Cnotes WNBA 2024 Season Best Bets And Opinions !

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack:
Interesting college football spreads this week:
— USC (-5.5) @ Michigan
— Utah @ Oklahoma State (-2)
— Tennessee (-7) @ Oklahoma
— Kansas State (-6.5) @ BYU
— Florida (-6) @ Mississippi State
— Arkansas @ Auburn (-3)

Quote of the Day
“I’ve kind of been in every scenario. I’ve come up as a rookie, I’ve had some success. I’ve been a veteran who’s been more of a leader, and I’ve kind of been a guy who’s struggled with injuries and seen his play decline. I’ve gone through the whole gauntlet of what a player could go through. So I feel like I can understand where all the guys are at mentally and what they’re thinking.”
White Sox interim manager Grady Sizemore

Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the NFL’s Chargers, who caught the most passes?

Tuesday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Moneyball, Philip Seymour Hoffman played A’s manager Art Howe.

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

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

— Falcons 22, Eagles 21- Atlanta QB Kirk Cousins makes $45M a year; Monday night, he showed why he’s worth that much.
He drove the Falcons 70 yards in six plays, throwing the game-winning TD pass against the Eagles with 0:34 left in a 22-21 Atlanta win in Philadelphia Monday night.
Cousins was 20-29/241 passing, with two TD’s. Very clutch performance

— Miami Dolphins put QB Tua Tagovailoa (concussion) on IR; he is out until at least Week 8- they signed QB Tyler Huntley off of Baltimore’s practice squad.

— There are 16 games on the Week 3 NFL schedule; 10 of the 16 games are AFC-NFC matchups, which seems like a lot. NFL likes to hoard the glitzier divisional games until later in the season, or into their Amazon package.
There are also two Monday night games this week, which is unusual; no idea why, but Jaguars-Bills, Commanders-Bengals are on the docket Monday.

— Weeks 2-6, the Thursday night Amazon NFL game is a divisional rivalry; then in Week 7, it is Denver at New Orleans, Sean Payton’s return to Bourbon Street.

— Carolina Panthers are benching 2nd-year QB Bryce Young, will start veteran Andy Dalton this week in Las Vegas against the Raiders.
Young is 2-16 as an NFL starter; he needs to sit-watch-learn for a while. Carolina hasn’t led in the 4th quarter in any of its last 20 games, the 2nd-longest streak ever.
Dalton is 36 years old, is 83-78-2 as an NFL starter; he started once for Carolina last year. His glory days were with the Bengals, where he played for coach Marvin Lewis, who is now an assistant coach with the Raiders, Carolina’s opponent this week.

— Let’s review the 2023 trade between the Bears/Panthers:
Carolina got:
The #1 pick in the draft- they took QB Bryce Young
Chicago got:
WR DJ Moore
1st round pick in 2023 (OL Darnell Wright)
2nd round pick in 2023 (CB Tyrique Stevenson
2024 1st round pick (QB Caleb Williams)
2025 2nd round pick
Carolina Panthers are owned by hedge fund trader David Tepper, the wealthiest owner in the NFL. Tepper sent the Panthers’ GM packing last year; we’ll see how fast they can clean up the mess that guy left behind.

— Not only are the Tennessee Titans off to an 0-2 start, they’re first team since 2012 to have a punt blocked in each of their first two games. Tennessee is also minus-4 in turnovers; they’ve been outscored 38-7 in the second half of their games.

— Famous birthdays, September 18th
Frankie Avalon, 84
Billy Gambrell, 83
Billy Sims, 69
Ryne Sandberg, 65
Holly Robinson Peete, 60
Toni Kukoc, 56
Jason Sudeikis, 49
Kevin Dotson, 28
Andre Pallante, 26

— From 2005-23, Pitt Panthers trailed 72 games by 10+ points in the 4th quarter; they lost all 72 of those games.
So far this season, Pitt trailed both Cincinnati/West Virginia by 10+ points in the 4th quarter, but won both games, behind QB Eli Holstein, whose thrown for 939 yards in three games.

— In Week 1, Cincinnati was the most popular pick in the Circa survivor pool in Las Vegas; they lost. 4,895 of the 14,206 people in the pool got KO’d when the Bengals lost
In Week 2, Baltimore was the most popular pick; they lost too. 2,304 people got knocked out when the Ravens lost. After two weeks, half the people are out of the pool already.
Handicapping the NFL is difficult; underdogs were 8-7 SU/10-4-1 ATS in Week 2.

— Packers at Tennessee game this week has an unexpected interesting subplot; QB Mailk Willis was a 3rd round pick by the Titans in the 2022 draft, out of Liberty (he had been a backup at Auburn before that).
Willis played in 11 games for the Titans, starting three (1-2); he completed 53% of his passes, with no TD’s, 3 INT’s. He ran the ball 32 times for 144 yards and a TD.
Last month, Willis was traded to Green Bay for a 7th round draft pick; 27 days after the trade, he is starting against his old team. Should be interesting.

— Kansas City Chiefs are bringing back RB Kareem Hunt; he spent the last five years with the Browns, after running for 1,327/824 yards in his first two NFL seasons, with the Chiefs. With Isiah Pacheco out injured for a while, Chiefs needed another RB.

— Astros 4, Padres 3
Jose Altuve fouled a ball off his toe, but the umpire called the ball fair and Altuve was out. He took his shoe/sock off to show the umpire that his toe was hurt— he got ejected.
Josh Hader got four outs for Houston; he never pitched more than an inning for San Diego.
This was San Diego’s 52nd sellout this season.

— Reds 6, Braves 5
Atlanta led 5-1 in 4th inning, 5-2 in 6th inning.
Reds used seven pitchers to get 27 outs.

— Marlins 11, Dodgers 9
Jesus Sanchez was 5-5 with three RBI.
Shohei Ohtani hit his 48th home run.
Dodgers lead in NL West is down to 3.5 games.

— A’s 4, Cubs 3
Shea Langeliers homered twice, has 28 for the season.
A’s were 50-112 last year; they’re 66-86 this year.

— Tigers 3, Royals 1 (10)
Detroit is 24-10 in its last 34 games.
Royals were 56-106 last year; they’re 82-70 this year.

— Rockies 8, Diamondbacks 2
Ezequiel Tovar was 3-5, with two runs, 2 RBI
Arizona lost four of its last five games.

— If the baseball playoffs starter today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Diamonfbacks-Mets
AL: New York, Guardians, Houston. Wild Cards: Orioles-Royals-Twins
Mets lead Atlanta by two games for the last NL playoff spot.
Twins lead Detroit by 1.5 games for the last AL playoff spot.

 

[Udog]

No games today. The regular season concludes tomorrow.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack:
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Dolphins @ Seattle (-4)
— Ravens (-1) @ Dallas
— Lions (-3) @ Arizona
— Chiefs (-3.5) @ Atlanta
— Jaguars @ Buffalo (-5)
— Commanders @ Cincinnati (-7.5)

Quote of the Day
“Yeah, I’m interested in coaching. My dad was a college coach, I was a college coach at Pitt, my wife was a cheerleader at Tennessee when I met her. Hell yeah, I’m interested in coaching. I know I can help a team, I know I can help young players get better, and I know I can hire a good staff, and that’s the only thing I can guarantee. But yeah, I’m very interested in coaching at any level, period.”
Former NFL coach Jon Gruden

Thursday’s quiz
Washington Nationals won the World Series five years ago; who led the Nationals in RBI that year?

Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the NFL’s Chargers, Antonio Gates caught the most passes (955); Keenan Allen caught 904 passes.

Tuesday’s quiz
Kirk Cousins played his college football at Michigan State.

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

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……..​

— Little bit of a strange news day; ESPN’s NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski quit the network, and will become the general manager of the men’s basketball program at St Bonaventure, his alma mater.
“I am retiring from a dream job at ESPN and am so incredibly grateful for my time and experiences with the Worldwide Leader.” Wojnarowski said.
General managers have become more common in college basketball in recent years, as the transfer portal has made wholesale roster turnover a bigger part of the sport.
St Bonaventure is in Olean, NY, on the state’s southern tier, kind of in the middle of nowhere. Recruiting really good basketball players to go there ain’t easy. Bonnies have been to the NCAA tournament three times in the last 20 years, going 0-3 in those games.

— One of the best college football games this weekend is Tennessee at Oklahoma, a game filled with subplots.
In 2000, QB Josh Heupel led Oklahoma to a national title; Sooners haven’t won a national title since then. Heupel is now Tennessee’s coach.
In 2011, Heupel became Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator, and over the next four years, the Sooners averaged 475 yards per game, but they fired him after a 40-6 bowl loss to Clemson. It was a controversial dismissal; firing alums can be frowned upon.
Saturday, Heupel will be back in Norman for the first time since they fired him; his Vols are 3-0, winning 51-10/71-0 in their two games vs I-A opponents.
As if all that isn’t enough, this is also Oklahoma’s first conference game since joining the SEC. Sooners are also 3-0, giving up a total of 34 points in the three games.
Should be interesting.

— Milwaukee Brewers are first team to clinch a playoff spot; they’ve won NL Central the last two years, will be in the playoffs for sixth time in seven years.

— You see all these TV commercials asking for money “For only $19 a month……..”
These commercials are always on TV………
— abandoned pets
— symbolically adopting an elephant
— disadvantaged kids
— American Civil Liberties Union
Whats the deal with $19 a month? Why not $29 or $34/month?
Inquiring minds want to know……..

— Under was 21-11 in NFL team totals in Week 2, after over was 16-13-3 in Week 1.
Underdogs were 8-7 SU in Week 2 NFL games, 10-4-1 ATS.

— Only two baseball teams ever have made the World Series after giving up more runs than they scored in the regular season:
1987 Minnesota Twins
2023 Arizona Diamondbacks

— Famous birthdays, September 19th
David Ray, 80
Nat Moore, 73
Dan Hampton, 67
Jim Abbott, 57
Raja Bell, 48
John Jaso, 41
George Springer, 35
CJ McCollum, 33
Dejounte Murray, 28
Today would’ve been Adam West’s 96th birthday; the star of Batman, the TV series.

— Jermaine Dye was a good ballplayer, played OF for the A’s in the Moneyball era; he had a career OPS of .826, once broke his leg fouling a pitch off his shin.
These days, Jermaine Dye’s son is a cornerback on the Kansas Jayhawks’ football team.
Kansas is playing its non-conference home games in a 25,000-seat soccer stadium; their conference home games will be at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the Chiefs. Jayhawks are-havng their football stadium refurbished this year.

— Billy Joe Hobert was an NFL QB for five years for three teams, starting 17 games, mostly with the Saints.
These days, Hobert’s son is a receiver for Texas State, which has a pretty good team.

— When the Giants scored a TD on their first drive at Washington Sunday, it was their first opening drive TD in their last 27 games, which was the longest brought in the NFL.

— Movie of the Day: Jerry and Marge Go Large (2022)- Based on the true story about an older married couple Jerry and Marge Selbee, who win the lottery and use the money to revive their small town. Turns out that Jerry was really smart, and figured out how to beat the lottery.
Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening are the couple. Michael McKean is also in the movie; he was in the old TV series Laverne & Shirley— his wife’s name in this movie is Shirley.
This was an interesting movie to watch, especially because it is a true story.

— A’s 5, Cubs 3
Oakland’s win clinched the NL Central for the Brewers.
Tyler Soderstrom homered, scored twice, had 2 RBI

— Guardians 5, Twins 4 (10)
Cleveland scored three runs in bottom of 10th.
Guardians’ magic number to clinch a playoff spot is 1.
Cleveland has 41 comeback wins this year, most in MLB.

— Giants 5, Orioles 3
Baltimore is 3-9 in its last 12 games; they’ve scored nine runs in last five games.

— Diamondbacks 9, Rockies 4
Corbin Carroll homered twice.
Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 11 guys in 6.1 IP.

— Bronx 2, Seattle 1 (10)
New York clinches a playoff spot.

— If the baseball playoffs starter today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Brewers, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Padres-Diamondbacks-Mets
AL: New York, Guardians, Houston. Wild Cards: Orioles-Royals-Twins
Mets/Arizona lead Atlanta by two games for the last two NL playoff spots.
Twins lead Detroit by half a game for the last AL playoff spot.

 

[Udog]

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Thursday, September 19

 

[Cnotes53]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
IND at WAS	07:00 PM	WAS -2.5 O 167.5	+500 +500
ATL at NY	07:00 PM	NY -2.0 U 157.0	+500 +500
CHI at CON	07:00 PM	CHI +14.5 O 152.5	+500 +500
LA at MIN	08:00 PM	MIN -4.5 U 158.5	+500 +500
DAL at LV	10:00 PM	LV +3.0 O 169.5	+500 +500
SEA at PHO	10:00 PM	SEA -1.5 U 164.0	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack:
Interesting NFL spreads this week:
— Chargers @ Pittsburgh (-1.5)
— Texans (-2) @ Minnesota
— Eagles @ New Orleans (-2.5)
— Broncos @ Tampa Bay (-6.5)
— Packers @ Tennessee (-3)
— NJ Giants @ Cleveland (-6.5)

Quote of the Day
“Not something I was necessarily expecting. Obviously, not something that was great to hear, but I respect Coach [Dave] Canales, I respect the organization. They made the decision. … Right now, that’s the situation that it is. I have to do everything to help the team whatever way I can.”
Carolina Panthers’ QB Bryce Young, after being benched this week

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Mets, who has hit the most home runs?

Thursday’s quiz
Washington Nationals won the World Series five years ago; Anthony Rendon led the Nationals in RBI that year, with 126. In five years since then, Rendon has knocked in a total of 125 runs.

Wednesday’s quiz
In the history of the NFL’s Chargers, Antonio Gates caught the most passes (955); Keenan Allen caught 904 passes.

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

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

— Jets 24, Patriots 3
New England is 30-41 since Tom Brady left town.
Patriots averaged 1.3 yards/pass attempt.
Patriots were 2-11 on third down, Jets 10-15.
New England is 10-13 ATS last 23 games as a road underdog.
Jets ran 70 plays for 400 yards; Patriots 48 plays for 139 yards.
In three games, Jets are 21-37 on third down.
Under is 12-6 in their last 18 home games.
Rodgers is 161-86-1 as an NFL starter.

— South Alabama 48, Appalachian State 14
Jaguars ran ball for 320 yards (7.4 yards/rush)
USA was 7-11 on third down, App State 4-13.
App State was favored by 8.5 points.
Under Clark, App State is 9-16 ATS as a home favorite.

— Dodgers 20, Marlins 4
Shohei Ohtani went 6-6 in this game.
Shohei Ohtani hit three HR’s in this game.
Shohei Ohtani had two doubles in this game.
Shohei Ohtani had 10 RBI in this game.
Ohtani became first player ever with 50+ homers, 50+ stolen bases in a season.

— Guardians 3, Twins 2 (10)
Cleveland clinches a playoff spot with this win.
Andres Gimenez had the walk-off hit for the Guardians.

— Blue Jays 5, Rangers 0
Kevin Gausman tossed five no-hit IP, then left with a bad back.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr hit two home runs.

— Astros 3, Angels 1
Houston is 9-0 when Yusei Kikuchi starts on the mound.
Jon Singleton’s 2-run double in 8th inning was the game-winning hit.

— Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019; Anthony Rendon led the Nationals in RBI that year, with 126. He then signed a 7-year, $245M deal with the Angels, and in the first five years of that deal, Rendon has knocked in a TOTAL of 125 runs.

— Famous birthdays, September 20:
Sophia Loren, 90
Butch Byrd, 83
Dave Twardzik, 74
Gary Cole, 68
Dante Hall, 46
Kyle Anderson, 31

— Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell recently sold his house and moved, after he and his family dealt with harassment from so-called fans late last season.
A buyer agreed to purchase Campbell’s old home within 24 hours of it being listed.

— Wednesday night in Seattle, Mariners trailed 2-1 in 10th inning, had Julio Rodriguez on third base with no outs, and Randy Arozarena at bat.
Arozarena struck out swinging, lost the grip on his bat and the bat headed straight towards Rodriguez, who spun out of the way of the bat and then took several more steps into foul territory — farther away from third base.
The catcher threw to third base and picked him off, and Seattle lost 2-1. Not good.

— Saturday in the Bronx, Gerrit Cole was pitching for New York; he drilled Rafael Devers in the first inning, then in the 4th inning, with the bases empty and one out, leading 1-0. he walked Devers intentionally. Why?
He walked a guy on purpose with the bases empty in the 4th inning; Boston wound up scoring three runs in that inning and won 7-1. Very strange.

— Buck Showalter has managed five teams in the major leagues; he managed the Mets last year. Two of the other four teams that fired Showalter won the World Series in the first year after he left, Bronx in 1996, Arizona in 2001.

— Last week in Knoxville, Tennessee obliterated Kent State 71-0; the game was 65-0 at halftime, but it wasn’t without some drama.
Up 30-0 in the first quarter, Tennessee recovered an onside kick, which seemed excessive. Why would you do that? Kent State got a hefty paycheck for showing up, but they were obviously not competitive. Kicking a dog when they’re down produces bad karma down the road.
Kent State was offered the chance to play the second half with a running clock; they turned that down. Golden Flashes lost to a I-AA team the week before, lost 55-24 at Pitt the week before that and they visit Penn State this week. Oy.

— The fan in Miami who caught Shohei Ohtani’s 50th home run declined to make a trade with a Dodgers and took the baseball home. Interesting decision; hard to believe they’ll keep the ball, which has to be worth a nice chunk of change.
Aaron Judge’s 62nd home run ball sold for $1.5M
Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball sold for $3M
Albert Pujols’ 700th home run ball sold for $360,000.

 

[Udog]

The regular season has concluded. The playoffs begin Sunday.

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack:
— Phillies 12, Mets 2— Philly clinches a playoff spot.
— Twins 4, Boston 2 (12)- Twins lead Tigers by game for last playoff spot.
— Padres 3, White Sox 2 (10)- San Diego’s magic # to clinch playoff spot is 4.
— Dodgers 6, Rockies 4- Ohtani has 52 home runs, 52 stolen bases.
— Marlins 4, Braves 3- Atlanta trails Mets by 2 games for last playoff slot.
— Reds 8, Pirates 3- Tyler Stephenson scored 3 runs, knocked in 5 more.

Quote of the Day
“You are literally too stupid to insult.”
Stu, in The Hangover

Saturday’s quiz
Where did Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen play his college football?

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Mets, Darryl Strawberry has hit the most home runs.

Thursday’s quiz
Washington Nationals won the World Series five years ago; Anthony Rendon led the Nationals in RBI that year, with 126. In five years since then, Rendon has knocked in a total of 125 runs.

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

Saturday’s Den: Quick notes for NFL teams…….​

Quick note on all 30 NFL teams that haven’t played yet this week:

NFC teams
— Cardinals
Offense is doing well so far: 8 TD’s, 4 field goals on 17 drives.

— Falcons
Converted only 4 of 18 third down plays.

— Panthers
Outscored 50-3 in first half, converted 2-22 on third down.
Curious to see how they’ll play with Andy Dalton at QB this week.

— Bears
Outscored opponents 24-3 in second half. Only 8-30 on third down

— Cowboys
Opponents have been in red zone seven times, scored 44 points.

— Lions
Have been in red zone 11 times, scored only 35 points.

— Packers
Have run ball for 424 yards in two games; they’re +4 in turnovers.

— Rams
Have been outscored 34-6 in first half; they’re 7-23 on 3rd down, opponents 13-24.

— Vikings
Outscored opponents 27-10 in first half; threw ball for 8.0/8.6 yards/attempt

— Giants
Were outscored 26-9 in second half; outgained by 72/121 total yards.

— Famous birthdays, September 21st:
Doug Moe, 86
Artis Gilmore, 75
Bill Murray, 74
Sidney Moncrief, 67
Rob Morrow, 62
Cecil Fielder, 61
Faith Hill, 57
Luke Wilson, 53
Kevin Carter, 51
Bryce Drew, 50
Demarcus Robinson, 30
Yainer Diaz, 26

— Saints
Scored 11 TD’s on 26 drives, have outrushed foes, 370-126.

— Eagles
Started 15 drives 70+ yards from goal line, scored 46 points (very good)

— 49ers
Converted only 8-23 third down plays.

— Seahawks
Four trips to red zone: only one TD, three field goals.
They have four TD’s on plays of 23+ yards.

— Buccaneers
Opponents have been in red zone 10 times: only 3 TD’s, 5 field goals

— Commanders
Opponents scored seven TD’s on 15 drives.
Commanders have run ball for 353 yards in two games.

AFC teams
— Ravens
Are 0-2 for first time since 2015; outgained opponents by 99/123 yards.

— Bills
Won average starting field position by 15-10 yards.

— Bengals
Have been outrushed 319-144, are only 8-24 on third down.

— Movie of the Day: The Hangover (2009)- Three buddies wake up from a bachelor party in Las Vegas, with no memory of the previous night and with the bachelor missing. Chaos ensues.
Funny movie that had two sequels; Hangover II (a terrible movie set in Thailand instead of Las Vegas) and Hangover III, which was pretty funny.

— Browns
Averaged only 2.7/4.8 yards/pass attempt, converted only 4-29 on third down.

— Broncos
Scored one TD, have 13 3/outs on 24 drives.

— Texans
Five trips to red zone: three TD’s, two field goals.

— Colts
Opponents are 17-31 on third down; were outscored 22-7 in first half.

— Jaguars
Have converted only 5-19 third down plays.

— Chiefs
Have converted only 5-17 third down plays, have 5 turnovers (minus-4).

— Raiders
Have been out rushed 327-98 in two games.
Scored only one TD, three FG’s on 14 drives that started 70+ yards from goal line.

— Chargers
Outscored opponents 22-6 in second half.

— Dolphins
Six trips to red zone- only 2 TD’s, 2 field goals.

— Steelers
Teams have combined for 40 drives in two Steeler games; only 2 TD’s.

— Titans
Seven trips to red zone- only 2 TD’s, 2 field goals.
Turned ball over 5 times (minus-4), have had two punts blocked.

 

[Udog]

First round matchups

No. 8 Atlanta Dream vs. No. 1 New York Liberty
No. 7 Phoenix Mercury vs. No. 2 Minnesota Lynx
No. 6 Indiana Fever vs. No. 3 Connecticut Sun
No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Las Vegas Aces


2024 WNBA postseason schedule:

All times Eastern
Sunday:
Game 1: Atlanta at New York (1 p.m., ESPN)
Game 1: Indiana at Connecticut (3 p.m., ABC)
Game 1: Phoenix at Minnesota (5 p.m., ESPN)
Game 1: Seattle at Las Vegas (10 p.m., ESPN)

Tuesday:
Game 2: Atlanta at New York (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Game 2: Seattle at Las Vegas (9:30 p.m., ESPN)

Wednesday:
Game 2: Indiana at Connecticut (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Game 2: Phoenix at Minnesota (9:30 p.m., ESPN)

Thursday
Game 3*: New York at Atlanta (TBD, ESPN 2)
Game 3*: Las Vegas at Seattle (TBD, ESPN 2)

Friday, Sept. 27:
Game 3*: Connecticut at Indiana (TBD, ESPN 2)
Game 3*: Minnesota at Phoenix (TBD, ESPN 2)

(* - If necessary)

 

[Udog]

Final standings, seeds:

No. 1 New York Liberty

Breanna Stewart has led the Liberty to the league's top seed. After losing in the Finals last season, the question remains whether this is the year they will claim the title as their own.


No. 2 Minnesota Lynx

Longtime coach Cheryl Reeve and the Lynx are back for another playoff run after they were quickly eliminated by the Sun last year in the first round. The Lynx have not made it to the Finals since winning it all in 2017.


No. 3 Connecticut Sun
The Sun will make their eighth consecutive playoff appearance but are still in search of their first title. The team reached the WNBA Finals in 2019 and 2022 but fell short.


No. 4 Las Vegas Aces
A'ja Wilson, Kelsey Plum and the Aces have won the last two WNBA Finals and will compete for a chance at the three-peat under the guidance of coach Becky Hammon.


No. 5 Seattle Storm
Seattle has returned to the playoffs after missing out in 2023. The Storm were consistently in the playoffs from 2016-21, winning the title in 2018 and 2020.


No. 6 Indiana Fever
Rookie Caitlin Clark will make her postseason debut this weekend with the Fever. Fellow former top pick Aliyah Boston also makes her playoffs debut. The 2023 WNBA Rookie of the Year award winner missed the playoffs last season.


No. 7 Phoenix Mercury
Diana Taurasi and the Mercury are back in the playoffs after losing in the first round in 2022 and completely missing the postseason in 2023. This marks Brittney Griner's first postseason appearance since returning to the team following her detainment in Russia.


No. 8 Atlanta Dream
The Dream reached the playoffs for the second consecutive year with Tanisha Wright at the helm. Prior to Wright's arrival, the Dream went four seasons without a playoff appearance.

 

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack:
— Cardinals 6, Guardians 5- Cleveland clinched AL Central title anyway.
— Astros 10, Angels 4- Alvarez/Tucker hit back/back home runs.
— Arizona 5, Brewers 0- Merrill Kelly tossed five shutout IP.
— Tigers 6, Orioles 4 (10)- Detroit won 10 of its last 13 games.
— Giants 9, Royals 0- Kansas City has lost six in a row at a very bad time.
— Mariners 8, Rangers 4- Seattle is 1.5 games out of last playoff spot.

Quote of the Day
“The building was a little bit different with Tom (Brady) in there. Obviously, playing-wise, Tom is different. He had everybody dialed in, high-strung environment, so I think everybody was pretty stressed out. They wanted me to come in, be myself, bring the joy back to football for guys who weren’t having as much fun.”
Baker Mayfield

Sunday’s quiz
The guy who owned which NFL team founded Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates?

Saturday’s quiz
Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen played his college football at Wyoming.

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Mets, Darryl Strawberry has hit the most home runs.

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

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a college football Saturday……​

— Tennessee 25, Oklahoma 15
Vols outgained Oklahoma, 345-222.
Tennessee led 19-3 at halftime.
Tennessee has three I-A wins:
51-10 vs NC State
71-0 over Kent State
25-15 at Oklahoma

— James Madison 70, North Carolina 50
Sun Belt’s Dukes led 53-21…….at halftime.
Alonza Barrett threw for 388 yards, 5 TD’s, ran for two more.
Tar Heels outgained JMU 616-611, but turned ball over five times.

— Washington State 54, San Jose State 52 OT
Fun game to watch Friday night; this one ended at 2:35 Saturday morning.
San Jose led 38-24 after three quarters.
Coogs forced OT with a 52-yard FG at gun in 4th quarter.

— Missouri 30, Vanderbilt 27 OT
Mizzou’s kicker missed three FG’s, two in 4th quarter.
Mizzou ran ball for 216 yards, outgained Vandy, 442-324.
Tigers were ranked #7 in country, which seems a bit high.

— Colorado 38, Baylor 31 OT
Down 24-10, Colorado threw a 58-yard TD pass on last play of first half.
Colorado tied game on a 43-yard Hail Mary on last play of regulation.
Baylor fumbled on half-yard line while trying to tie game in OT.

— Upsets of the Week:
Buffalo (+13.5) 23, Northern Illinois 20 OT
James Madison (+10.5) 70, North Carolina 50
Navy (+9.5) 56, Memphis 44
Stanford (+9.5) 26, Syracuse 24
Illinois (+9.5) 31, Nebraska 24 OT
South Alabama (+8.5) 48, Appalachian State 14
Temple (+7) 45, Utah State 29
Monmouth 45, Florida International 42- It is bad to lose to a I-AA team.

— Buffalo 23, Northern Illinois 20 OT
NIU led 14-3 at halftime.
Huskies outgained Buffalo, 359-184.
NIU was 9-22 on third down, Buffalo 2-15.
Huskies upset Notre Dame, so this score hurts Notre Dame’s resume.

— Central Michigan 37, Ball State 34
Chippewas drove 75 yards in five plays in last minute, scored winning TD with 0:16 left.
Ball State had taken the lead on a TD with 0:53 left.
Chippewas ran ball for 335 yards, 10.2 yards/attempt.

— Stanford 26, Syracuse 24
These schools are both in the ACC; they’re 2,826 miles apart.
Cardinal kicked a 39-yard FG at the gun for the road win.
Stanford ran for 173 yards (5.4 yards/carry).

— Penn State 56, Kent State 0
Chris Andrews, who runs the sportsbook at South Point Casino in Las Vegas, said that Kent State is the lowest-rated I-A football team in the last 30 years- they lost 71-0 last week.

— Famous birthdays, September 22nd:
Harold Carmichael, 75
Debby Boone, 68
Joan Jett, 66
Scott Baio, 64
Vince Coleman, 63
Mike Matheny, 54
Carlos Correa, 30
Jeremy Pena, 27

— Random stat: UNLV didn’t play this week, but Rebels are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games.

— Army 37, Rice 14
Cadets are off to a 3-0 start.
Army even threw for 120 yards in this game- they were 9-15 on 3rd down.

Navy 56, Memphis 44
Middies scored 38-56 points in their two I-A wins.
Memphis gained 659 yards and lost by two TD’s.
Navy ran ball for 361 yards (9.3 yards/attempt)
Memphis won at Florida State last week, then this…….

— Florida State 14, California 9
Seminoles finally get a win after their 0-3 start.
Florida State sacked Cal QB’s seven times.
Cal outgained the Seminoles, 410-284.

— Florida 45, Mississippi State 28
Win ends Gators’ 7-game losing skid against I-A teams.
Florida completed 26-28 passes, averaged 9.9 yards/attempt.
Miss State QB Shapen hurt his shoulder, is out for the year.

— West Virginia 32, Kansas 28
Jayhawks led this game 28-17 with 4:00 left to play.
WVU had TD drives of 75-67 yards in last 3:27 to pull out the comeback.
Greene threw a 15-yard TD pass with 0:26 left for the win.

— Michigan 27, USC 24
Michigan scored game-winning TD with 0:37 left.
Michigan ran ball for 290 yards, passed for only 32.
Wolverines led 14-3 at halftime.
This was USC’s first game in the Big 18 Conference.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Sunday, September 22

 

[Cnotes53]

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
ATL at NY	01:00 PM	NY -13.0 O 156.0	+500 +500
IND at CON	03:00 PM	IND +5.5 O 163.5	+500 +500
PHO at MIN	05:00 PM	MIN -10.0 U 157.5	+500 +500
SEA at LV	10:00 PM	SEA +8.5 U 161.5	+500 +500

 

[Cnotes53]

WNBA PLAYOFFS 2024

09/22/2024...........................1 - 5 - 0.........................16.66%...........................- 22.50

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack:
— Tigers 4, Orioles 3- Right now, Detroit is the 3rd AL Wild Card
— Red Sox 8-9, Twins 1-3- Minnesota picked a bad day to lose a twinbill.
— Giants 2, Royals 0- Blake Snell tossed six shutout IP.
— Mets 2, Phillies 1- Mets/Arizona are tied for last two NL Wild Card slots.
— Brewers 10, Arizona 9- Diamondbacks led 8-0 in third inning.
— Padres 4, White Sox 2- San Diego’s magic number to clinch playoff spot: 2

Quote of the Day
“I’m smiling inside. I’m absolutely beat. This has been an amazing week, but again a really heavy week just with all the factors, just getting back to work and to continue to push to establish our culture and process.”
Carolina Panthers coach Dave Canales, after his first NFL win Sunday

Monday’s quiz
Who was manager of the New York Mets, last time they were in a World Series?

Sunday’s quiz
Paul Allen, the late owner of the Seattle Seahawks, founded Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates.

Saturday’s quiz
Buffalo Bills’ QB Josh Allen played his college football at Wyoming.

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

TV suggestion for Monday night, and wrapping up an NFL Sunday​

Check out Jimmy Fallon’s TV show Monday night at 11:30; friend of mine’s daughter is going to be on, in a segment they call “Instant Song Writer”.
Her name is Jules Olson; very talented young lady, a singer/song writer.
__________________________________________
Rams 27, 49ers 24
Rams’ first TD drive was 87 yards, fueled by a successful fake punt.
Rams’ last four drives: 24 plays, 174 yards, 20 points.
LA kicked a 37-yard field goal at the gun for the comeback win.
Kyren Williams ran ball for 89 yards, two TD’s.
49ers’ first two drives: 21 plays, 123 yards, 14 points.
Jennings caught 11 passes for 175 yards, three TD’s.
San Francisco outgained the Rams 425-296.
Opponents’ team total: over 2-0-1

Eagles 15, Saints 12
Saints led this game 3-0 after the third quarter.
Eagles’ first six drives: 49 plays, 284 yards, 2 turnovers, blocked punt.
Eagles’ last three drives: 16 plays, 180 yards, 15 points.
Saquon Barkley ran ball 17 times for 147 yards, two TD’s.
Saints scored only TD with 2:10 left to take a 12-7 lead.
Eagles drove 64 yards, scored game-winning TD with 1:02 left.
First two games, NO had 11 touchdowns on 20 drives.
First two games, Saints averaged 8.3/14.2 yards/pass (5.0 in this game)

Colts 21, Bears 16
Colts led this game 7-0 at halftime.
Bears ran 84 plays for 385 yards, Colts 54 plays for 306 yards.
Indy is 18-13-1 ATS in last 32 games coming off a loss.
Under Steichen, Colts are 8-5 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points.
Williams threw for 363 yards, with 2 TD’s, 2 INT’s.
Bears were 3-12 on third down, Colts 9-21.
Bears have been outscored 40-13 in first half of their games.
Chicago is 10-16-1 ATS in last 27 games as road underdogs.

Giants 21, Browns 15
Giants lost a fumble on the opening kickoff.
Browns threw a 24-yard TD pass on first play after the fumble.
On Browns’ next 30 plays, they gained a total of 25 yards.
Giants outscored Cleveland 14-0 in last 2:00 of first half.
Cleveland scored 17-18-15 points in its 1-2 start (5 TD’s on 34 drives).
Browns are 8-43 on 3rd down so far, 7-11 on 4th down.
Amari Cooper caught seven passes for 86 yards and a TD.
Cleveland is 9-16-1 ATS in last 26 games coming off a win.

Steelers 20, Chargers 10
QB Herbert (ankle) left game with 6:20 left in 3rd quarter, game tied 10-10. Chargers in second half: 15 plays, minus-5 yards, no points.
Pittsburgh outgained the Chargers, 346-168.
Since 2019, Chargers are 8-26-7 ATS in games with spread of 3 or less points
Steelers won first three games, allowing two TD’s on 27 drives.
Steelers’ offense has only three TD’s on 30 drives (10 field goals).
Pittsburgh is 14-6-1 ATS in last 21 games with spread of 3 or less points.
Steelers outrushed first two opponents, 392-214.

Vikings 34, Texans 7
Houston ran ball only 14 times for 38 yards.
Since 2016, Texans are 2-9-2 ATS as road favorites.
Houston is 4-9 ATS in last 13 games coming off a win.
Stefon Diggs caught 7 passes for 94 yards in his return to Minnesota.
Minnesota won first three games, giving up three TD’s on 31 drives.
Vikings outscored first three opponents 41-10 in first half.
Minnesota’s 4 TD drives were short: 56-21-44-53 yards.
Vikings are 7-1-1 ATS in last nine games coming off a win.

Famous birthdays, September 23:
Julio Iglesias, 81
Bruce Springsteen, 75
Jason Alexander, 65
Larry Krystkowiak, 60
Cuonzo Martin, 53
Ricky Davis, 45
Matt Kemp, 40
Brandon Jennings, 35

Broncos 26 Buccaneers 7
First NFL win for rookie QB Nix, who threw for 216 yards.
Broncos’ first four drives: 26 plays, 145 yards, 17 points (led 20-7 at half).
Lutz kicked four field goals for Denver.
Under is 16-10 in their last 26 road games.
Tampa Bay hasn’t been 3-0 since 2005.
Bucs were outgained 352-233, averaged 3.3 yards/pass attempt.
Last two games, Tampa Bay was outgained 815-449.
QB Mayfield is 44-49 as an NFL starter, 12-10 with Buccaneers.

Packers 30, Titans 14
Titans traded QB Willis to Green Bay August 26.
Willis threw for 202 yards, ran for 73 more.
Green Bay is 21-9 ATS in last 30 games as an underdog.
First three games, opponents are 9-32 on third down.
On its first drive, Tennessee drove 65 yards for a TD
Next drive, down 10-7, QB Levis (3-9 as a starter) threw a pick-6
Titans have been outscored 48-17 in second half of games.
Packers outrushed Tennessee, 188-33.

Panthers 36, Raiders 22
Veteran QB Dalton made his first ’24 start, threw for 319 yards, 3 TD’s.
Carolina averaged 7.8 yards/pass attempt (3.9/2.5 first two games)
Carolina scored four TD’s on 11 drives; they had one TD on first 23 drives.
Hubbard ran ball for 114 yards, Johnson had 122 receiving yards.
Las Vegas was outgained 437-331, ran ball for only 55 yards.
First three games, Raiders gave up 176/151/131 rushing yards.
Raiders have converted only 12-37 third down plays this year.
QB Minshew is 16-24 as an NFL starter; Raiders are his 4th team.

Lions 20, Cardinals 13
Lions in first half: 35 plays, 240 yards, led 20-10 at half.
Detroit in 2nd half: 34 plays, 133 yards, no points.
Lions are 19-38 on third down, opponents 8-31.
Goff is 28-25-1 as Detroit’s QB (was 44-30 with Rams)
Arizona was 1-9 on third down, Lions were 6-12.
On their first drive, Cardinals drove 75 yards on 8 plays for a TD.
Rest of game, Arizona ran 45 plays for 202 yards, six points..
QB Murray is 29-39-1 SU as an NFL starter.

Ravens 28, Cowboys 25
RB Henry ran ball for 151 yards and two TD’s.
Baltimore led 28-6 after three quarters.
Ravens are 17-4 ATS in last 21 games with spread of 3 or fewer points.
Only nine of Ravens’ 60 plays came on third down (4-9)
First five drives, Dallas ran 30 plays for 132 yards, 3 points.
Last six drives, Dallas ran 40 plays for 280 yards, 22 points.
Last two games, Cowboys allowed 10 TD’s on 18 drives.
Over is 33-17 in last 50 Dallas home games.

 

[Udog]

No games today. The playoffs resume tomorrow.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack:
Active pitchers with 2,000+ strikeouts:
3,411— Justin Verlander
3,407— Max Scherzer
2,968— Clayton Kershaw
2,414— Chris Sale
2,246— Gerrit Cole
2,044— Charlie Morton
2,015— Lance Lynn
2,003— Yu Darvish

Quote of the Day
“As a kid you play the game because you love it, like nothing else matters. I still play the game that way, but I don’t feel like a kid anymore. My perspective has changed.”
Rockies OF Charlie Blackmon, who is retiring after a 14-year career

Tuesday’s quiz
Troy Aikman played college football for which two schools?

Monday’s quiz
Terry Collins was manager of the New York Mets, last time they were in a World Series.

Sunday’s quiz
Paul Allen, the late owner of the Seattle Seahawks, founded Microsoft with childhood friend Bill Gates.

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

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

— My dad was from New York City; when his parents drove three hours north to visit us here in suburban Albany, they always brought me a big box of baseball cards, and I would spend hours going through those cards. Lot of hours.
Was going thru those cards one day, and for whatever reason I decided that I was going to root for the Kansas City A’s. This was 1965; I was an odd 5-year old, but because some guy on one of the cards didn’t have any minor league stats on the back of his baseball card, I became an A’s fan. (That guy became a Hall of Famer, Catfish Hunter)
Three years later the A’s moved to Oakland, and they became a great team, won three straight World Series (1972-74) and made my teenage self very happy.
Then free agency happened, and things were never quite the same; I stayed an avid fan, even to this day, but Oakland is/was a small market, and these days the owner is a cheap bastard who should sell the team. They made a movie about the A’s, so they all got to meet Brad Pitt, but the team is basically a piñata now.
Why own a team if
a) You don’t care about winning?
b) You’re not trying to turn a quick profit (please SELL the team!!!)
Anyway, this week the A’s play their last three games ever in Oakland; they’ll play the next three years in Sacramento, then (hopefully) they’ll start playing in Las Vegas in 2028.
It is a sad end to an era that was largely successful, just not recently.

— Bills 47, Jaguars 10
Buffalo in first half: 39 plays, 308 yards, 5 TD’s.
Game was 34-3 at halftime.
Bills are 25-18-2 ATS in last 45 games coming off a win
Bills won their first three games, scoring 34-31-47 points.
Jaguars were 2-13 on third down, Buffalo 6-11.
In three games, Jaguars are 7-32 on third down.
Jaguars lost first three games, scoring four TD’s on 30 drives.
QB Lawrence is 21-34 as an NFL starter.

— Commanders 38, Bengals 33
Washington had six drives: scored five TD’s and a field goal.
Last week, they had seven drives, kicked seven field goals.
Daniels threw for 248 yards (9.9 yards/attempt).
Commanders are 7-3 ATS last ten games as a road underdog.
This was first NFL game since 1940 with no punts, no turnovers.
Bengals had seven drives: 4 TD’s, 2 FG’s and they lost.
WR Chase caught six passes for 118 yards, two TD’s.
Bengals lost first three games by total of 12 points.

— Not sure why they have Monday night NFL doubleheaders this week and next, but they do.

— How NFL divisions are doing against the spread, outside the division:
NFC East: 0-4 ATS at home, 5-1 on road outside the division.
NFC North: 10-2 ATS outside the division
NFC South: 1-5 ATS at home, 4-0 on road outside the division.
NFC West: 3-4-1 ATS outside the division.
AFC East: 3-4-1 ATS outside the division.
AFC North: 1-5 ATS at home, 5-1 on road outside the division.
AFC South: 2-8 ATS outside the division.
AFC West: 1-3 ATS at home, 5-1 on road outside the division.

— UFL’s Memphis Showboats named former Cardinals’ coach Ken Whisenhunt their new coach; he was 52-73 coaching Arizona, winning the 2008 NFC title but losing the Super Bowl 27-23 to the Steelers. He later coached the Titans for a couple years.

— Random trivia: In the movie For Love of the Game, Kevin Costner’s character pitches a perfect game in the last start of his 19-year Hall of Fame career.
The last out of the perfect game was a pinch-hitter played by Carmine Giovinazzo, who a few years later became a regular on CSI: New York.
Famous birthdays, September 24th:
Gordon Clapp, 76
Eddie George, 61
Rafael Palmeiro, 60
Bernard Gilkey, 58
Kevin Millar, 53
Keith Null, 39

— Gambling is hard: if you wagered on Baylor (+2) at Colorado Saturday night, you learned this the hard way. Baylor suffered a very bad beat.
Baylor led 24-10 with 1:00 to go in the first half.
Colorado threw 58-yard TD pass with 0:50 left in the half.
Baylor led 31-24 with a minute to go in regulation.
Colorado threw 43-yard TD pass as time expired, to force OT.
Colorado scored a TD in overtime.
Baylor then fumbled on the half-yard line; a TD would’ve tied the game.
Just a really, really bad beat.

— The great actor Samuel L Jackson went to college at Morehouse College in Atlanta; he also worked as a vendor at Falcons’ games at Fulton County Stadium. To this day, he is a big fan of the Falcons.
Sunday night, he was at the Chiefs-Falcons game, and introduced Atlanta’s owner, Arthur Blank, as he was inducted into the Falcons’ Ring of Fame.

— Alabama is a home underdog to Georgia this week, the first time since 2007 they’ve been a home dog. It is the first time they’ve been an underdog in any regular season game since 2015, when they visited Georgia.

— In the last 100 years, only two baseball players have had 13+ game hitting streaks for six different teams; Gary Sheffield and Jose Iglesias.

— The least valuable NFL franchise (Bengals) is worth nearly $1B more than the most valuable NHL franchise (Maple Leafs).

— 76ers’ star Joel Embiid signed a 3-year deal worth $192.9M, which works out to $64.3M a year, which works out to $784,146 per game.

Lot of cabbage; 76ers are 34-33 in playoff games since Embiid has been on the team- they haven’t made the conference finals with Embiid.

— Cincinnati Reds fired manager David Bell Sunday; Reds were over .500 in three of six years under Bell, but only made the playoffs once, losing a series 2-0 to Atlanta in 2020, the COVID year. Reds play in a small ballpark; hard to develop pitching playing in a small park.

— Phillies clinched NL East Monday night, their first division title since 2011; they’re in playoffs for the third year in a row.

 

[Udog]

WNBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, September 24

 

[Cnotes53]

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24​

Game	Time(ET)	Pick	Units
ATL at NY	07:30 PM	NY -12.5 U 156.0	+500 +500
SEA at LV	09:30 PM	SEA +8.0 O 158.0	+500 +500