Month: September 2025

Yesterday, I mentioned the importance of plenty of American League games in this last week of the MLB regular season given the playoff slots there up for grabs.  Not wanting anyone to think that the National League playoff situation is cut and dried, let me take a parallel look at the situation there:

• Brewers           95-62   Clinched the Central Division
• Phillies            92-64   Clinched the East Division
• Dodgers          88-68   Clinched a playoff spot somewhere

That may give the impression of “Ho-hum…” to the National League situation, but the wildcard race there has multiple possibilities:

• Cubs                88-68   Clinched a playoff spot somewhere
• Padres             86-71   Clinched a playoff spot somewhere – – and here the fun begins …
• Reds                80-76
• Mets                80-76
• D-Backs          79-77
• Cards              77-80
• Giants              77-80

Only one National League playoff slot is still in doubt with five teams still “in the mix”.

Moving on …  Last Sunday was September 21, 2025, and on that day, there was a highly unusual happenstance in the Eagles/Rams game.  The Eagles won the game 33-26 rallying from a 26-7 deficit to win the game.  Twice in the fourth quarter, the Rams lined up to kick a field goal.  Jalen Carter blocked the first try in the middle of the fourth quarter; then, with only seconds left on the clock and the Eagles leading 27-26, Jordan Davis blocked the second field goal try, scooped it up and ran 60 yards for a TD to seal the win.

I have been unable to find a time when an NFL team blocked two field goals in the same quarter of a regular season game, but I will admit that my data mining skills are not exactly “world renowned”.  However, I did run across an interesting coincidence:

• The Eagles blocked two field goal attempts in Sunday’s game on 9/21/25.
• Exactly 50 years to the day before that, the Eagles blocked two field goal attempts against the Giants on 9/21/75.
• In the 1975 game, both field goal blocks were accomplished by Bill Bergey.
• Unlike Sunday’s win over the Rams, the Eagles lost the game in 1975 by a score of 23-14.

Switching gears …  Auburn head basketball coach, Bruce Pearl, “abruptly” resigned yesterday and his son Steven will take over the job there.  The idea of a successful coach “retiring” proximal to the opening of a season in order to have a specific person inherit the position is not unknown and these events could easily be explained in that milieu.  However, there may be a wrinkle here:

• Rumors say that Bruce Pearl may be contemplating a run for the US Senate seat now held by Tommy Tuberville who was once the head football coach at Auburn.
• Tuberville is not going to stand for re-election to the Senate.  He is going to run for Governor of Alabama in 2026.

For now, Bruce Pearl has debunked the rumors simply saying that he resigned simply because it was time for him to do so.  Nonetheless, the rumors persist …

Finally, after noting the coincidence of the Eagles blocking two field goals in a game exactly 50 years apart, let me close with this from Albert Einstein:

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Sometimes I get asked if it is difficult for me to find events about which there is a “curmudgeonly element” so that I have something to rant about here.  Indeed, there are some sparse periods; and when I find myself in the throes of such a time, I tend to venture out into sports that I normally do not follow as closely as some others.  I feel in those times like a member of a hunter-gatherer clan searching in the wilderness of sports for a morsel here and a nugget there.  Such was the case last week and I turned to the sport of golf for some reading.

And that is how I found an item from about two weeks ago.  It was on CBSSports.com which is a site that I check routinely but it was buried on the “Golf Page” that I rarely if ever check.  And that is where I learned that the PGA’s Champions Tour – – the one that used to be called the Seniors Tour – – had an event in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  That tournament was contested at the Minnehaha Country Club and the 12^th hole at that course is described as par 5 with a water hazard.  John Daly was a contestant in that Sioux Falls tournament and he managed to shoot a 19 on that hole alone.  Here is how it was described at CBSSports.com:

“The course does not have a laser system to record shots, but shot-by-shot details state Daly deposited seven balls into the hazard. He finally cleared the water and got up and down from the intermediate rough for his 19. He officially signed for an 18-over 88, nine shots worse than the next lowest standing player. For those keeping score at home, that means Daly played the other 17 holes in 4-over par … Daly’s performance broke a three-way tie for highest score on a single hole, most recently achieved by Bruce Crampton, dating back to the 1996 Grand Rapids Open.”

At the least, you have to give John Daly points for his persistence there …

Moving on … Cal Raleigh is not getting nearly as much acclaim as he deserves. The catcher for the Mariners is breaking records left and right but does not seem to be a part of the major sports narrative these days.

• Weeks ago, he broke the record for home runs by a catcher (Johnny Bench)
• Last week, he broke the record for home runs by a switch hitter (Mickey Mantle)
• Last week he broke the record for home runs in Mariner history (Ken Griffey, Jr.)

Just being on a list with those three players is impressive enough; being someone who broke records set by those three players is more than merely impressive.  So, can he break the record for most home runs in a single season in the American League?  Here is the math

• Aaron Judge – – 62 home runs in 2022 for the Yankees
• Roger Maris – – 61 home runs in 1961 for the Yankees
• Babe Ruth – – 60 home runs in 1927 for the Yankees
• Babe Ruth – – 59 home runs in 1921 for the Yankees
• Cal Raleigh – – 58 home runs in 2025 for the Mariners – – and counting …

The Mariners have 6 games left to play in this season; every added “dinger” by Raleigh will move him up a notch on that list.  Once again, Raleigh is in contact with historic MLB figures and that list of impressive players is even larger when you add in three other AL players who hit 58 home runs in a season:

• Aaron Judge – – 58 home runs in 2024 for the Yankees
• Hank Greenberg – – 58 home runs in 1938 for the Tigers
• Jimmy Foxx – – 58 home runs in 1932 for the A’s.

As of this morning, the Mariners hold a three-game lead over the Astros in the AL West thanks to a series sweep of the Astros over the weekend.  In the AL, only the Blue Jays have guaranteed themselves a playoff slot this year.  The races for the division and for the wild card slots look as if they could go down to the last day or two of the season:

The current division leaders in the AL are:

• Jays                 90-66
• Mariners          87-69
• Tigers              85-71

It is good to be in the lead this late in the season, but there are four teams vying for only three wild card slots that are close enough to the division leaders to give some pause:

• Yankees          88-68
• Red Sox          85-71
• Guardians       84-72
• Astros              84-72

There should be plenty of drama in the final week of the MLB regular season in the American League playoff chase – – and if you add in the potential record-setting potential for Cal Raleigh, there is plenty of reason to check out the Mariners’ box scores specifically.

Finally, even though Bob Knight is most associated with basketball, he did have this curmudgeonly perspective on hitting home runs:

“I watched the guy that hits a home run, and he comes across the plate and he points skyward, like thanking for the help from the Almighty to hit the home run. And as he does that, I say to myself, ‘God screwed the pitcher.’ And I don’t know how else you look at it.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Football Friday is a week overdue; so, let me get straight to it.  The “Betting Bundle” from two weeks ago was positive:

• Spreads and Totals:    2-2-0
• Season Results:         3-4-0

And …

• Money Line Parlays:   2-1       Profit = $149
• Season Results:         3-3       Profit = $77

The Linfield Wildcats had a disappointing start to their 2025 football season losing at home in a non-conference game to Wisconsin-Oshkosh by a score of 31-14.  This week, Linfield is hosting a feline showdown; it will be the Wildcats against the Panthers of Chapman University.  Chapman also lost its opening game this year 37-30 at home against Hardin-Simmons University.  Go Wildcats!

As of this morning, my “sleeper team” is looking like a “sleeping beauty”.  Georgia Tech’s record stands at 3-0; last weekend they beat Clemson 24-21.  That upset win had several positive results for Tech:

• It vaulted them into the Top 25 rankings; they sit at #18 this week.
• It was a conference win over Clemson.
• Should there be a need for a tiebreaker with Clemson down the road, Tech has the head-to-head victory in hand.

 

College Football Commentary:

 

When I was noting the results of the Georgia Tech/Clemson game last week, I used the word, “Upset”.   I think that word is overused when it comes to college football.  I consider Tech’s victory to be an upset because at the kickoff the college football pundits had Clemson solidly in the Top 20 at #12 in the country and Georgia Tech on the outside looking in.  Moreover, the oddsmakers had Clemson as a full touchdown favorite in the game.  So, whether you were considering the pundits or the oddsmakers, the result of the game was a surprise and thus should be called an “Upset”.

However, some would use that word to describe a game where the #15 ranked team beat the #12 ranked team by two points.  I prefer not to use that label in that circumstance because what the pundits would be saying for such a game is that it ought to be a close matchup – – and a two-point differential would validate that expectation.  I try to reserve the use of “Upset” to situations such as when Stanford beat USC in a game about 20 years ago when USC was ranked in the Top 5 and unranked Stanford was a 40-point underdog.  That is an extreme example of an “Upset”.

In Week 1 of this season, Texas was ranked #1 by the pundits even though no one had seen any on-field performance by the Longhorns.  Their opening game was on the road at Ohio State who was ranked #3 under similar punditry circumstances and the betting line closed with Ohio State as a 1-point favorite at home as the defending national champion.  Some folks called that win by the Buckeyes an “Upset”; I think that is a serious misuse of the word.

Two schools have already fired their head football coaches in 2025, and we have not even arrived at the autumnal equinox.

1. At UCLA, head coach DeShaun Foster was “relieved of his duties”.  In addition, the team fired defensive coordinator, Ikaika Malloe.  The Bruins have lost all three games so far this year.  An opening loss to Utah was not a huge surprise; losing at UNLV might be acceptable because the Rebels’ program is on an upward trajectory.  However, last week the Bruins lost at home to New Mexico by 25 points.  That calls for the coach to exit – – stage left.
2. At Va Tech, the school and head coach Brent Pry parted company after the Hokies opened the season at 0-3.  The first two losses were both double-digit losses but both opponents were SEC teams; perhaps that could be tolerated.  Then last week the Hokies lost at home to Old Dominion by19 points.  Sayonara …

The new interim head coach at Va Tech has an interesting situation for tomorrow.  The Hokies are at home again facing another opponent they are “supposed to beat”.  The Division 1-AA Wofford Terriers coming out of the Southern Conference will take the field at the kickoff.  Normally, Wofford squares off with the likes of The Citadel or Mercer or Furman.  Moreover, Wofford arrives at the stadium with a similar record of 0-3 in 2025.

• Memo For Interim Head Coach:  Do not lose this game by three scores…

There is another team where the coach must be feeling the heat despite his long tenure at the school.  I am referring to Mike Gundy at Oklahoma St.; Gundy has been on the sidelines there for more than 20 years and he elevated the program from “middling status” to a team that was usually taken as a serious opponent in most seasons.  Last year, lots of folks thought that the Cowboys would be the Big-12 champions – – but the team lost every single conference game.

In 2025, the Cowboys opened against a cupcake opponent, Tennessee-Martin and the Cowboys came away with a 27-7 win at home.  The second game was always going to be a tall order; the Cowboys played highly ranked Oregon in Eugene, OR.  The score of that game from two weeks ago was not just a loss; it was a humiliation; Oregon won 69-3 and the stat sheet said that was about what the scoreboard should have been.  Oklahoma St. has now lost its last 10 games in a row against Division 1-A opponents.  Tonight, Tulsa visits Stillwater, OK; the Cowboys are 10.5-point favorites …

 

NCAA Games of Interest:

 

As usual, there are a few outrageous spreads on the board for this week:

• Kent St. at Florida St. – 45.5
• UAB at Tennessee – 40
• Sam Houston St. at Texas – 39.5
• Oregon St. at Oregon – 35.5

Florida at Miami – 8 (51.5):  Miami is very good; they are 3-0 on the season with a win over Notre Dame and a blowout win over USF who were “upset darlings” coming into that game.    QB, Carson Beck, may wind up collecting Social Security when he runs out of NCAA eligibility.  The Gators lost last week the LSU; this week, they draw the Hurricanes and then next week, Texas comes to town.  Yikes! …

Illinois at Indiana – 6 (53.5):  Indiana is off to another blazing start against three middling-at-best opponents outscoring opponents 156-23.  Indiana is ranked 19^th in the country this week and Illinois is ranked 9^th.  Yet, the oddsmakers have Indiana as a solid favorite at home.

Auburn at Oklahoma – 7 (47):  Both teams are 3-0; both teams are ranked in the Top 25; both teams struggled in the SEC last season.  Auburn QB, Jackson Arnold, was the Oklahoma QB last season so this is either a homecoming for him or a revenge game depending on how you look at it.  In three games, Auburn is averaging almost 6 yards per rushing attempt; Oklahoma’s defensive strength is its defensive line.  Given all the angles and edges involved in this game, I call it the College Game of the Week.

Tulane at Ole Miss – 13.5 (62):  Tulane aspires to the CFP slot set aside for a team outside the Power 4 conferences.  A win on the road against Ole Miss would be an important element in their resume; the Green Wave has already recorded two wins over “Power 4” teams beating Duke and Northwestern…  Purely a hunch, but I like Tulane with that handful of points; put that underdog and those points in the “Betting Bundle”.

Washington – 20 at Washington St. (52):  Back before the PAC-12 implosion, this was the final game of the year for these two teams, and it was called the “Apple Cup”; this is the 117^th game between these two teams; Washington holds a commanding lead of 76-34-6 in the series.

 

NFL Commentary:

 

The NFL teams have all played two games so far and that means it is time for fans around the country to over-react both positively and negatively to small data sets.  Let me give you some examples:

• Packers’ Defense: It looked awfully good against the Lions in the opening game and then it looked even better stifling the Commanders last week.  But may I suggest that we pump the brakes on comparisons to the 1985 Bears’ defense for the moment?
• Russell Wilson’s Ability: He stunk out the joint in Week 1 against the Commanders putting only 6 points on the board.  Clearly, he is washed up and should be benched immediately – – and then he throws for 450 yards and puts 37 points up on the Cowboys.
• Jets’ Offense: They could not average 20 points a game last year; in Week 1 they scored 32 points on the Steelers.  Not bad …  Then in Week 2 the Jets scored only 10 points against the Bills and the final TD was a meaningless score.
• Commanders’ Defense: They looked like world beaters while dominating the Giants and then they were gashed by the Packers in Week 2.

Here are a few comments on games last week:

Lions 52  Bears 21:  So far, the pairing of Caleb Williams with Ben Johnson has resulted in little difference as compared to last year.

Chargers 20  Raiders 9:  The Chargers’ defense is for real after seeing them against the Chiefs and now the Raiders.  The Raiders’ OL remains a “work in progress” to be as kind as I can.

Ravens 41  Browns 17:  I don’t want to hang the Browns’ 0-2 start on Joe Flacco; that roster is deficient.  However, Flacco is not the future QB of that team so why not let one or both rookies on the roster get some game experience to find out if one or both are going to become a starting NFL QB?

Bengals 31  Jags 27:  The Bengals are 2-0; that’s the good news.  The Bengals will be without Joe Burrow and with Jake Browning until at least December – – and maybe longer; that is the bad news.  Why can’t the Bengals find five aspiring piano movers to create a functional OL to protect their QBs?

Pats 33 Dolphins 27:  With their loss last night to the Bills the Dolphins are now 0-3 and they do not look like they have any great strength to build upon.

Seahawks 31  Steelers 17:  The Steelers’ defense has now given up 30+ points two weeks in a row.  That is very “un-Steeler-like”.

Cards 27  Panthers 22:  The Cards are 2-0 but they have played two bad teams, and each game was a one-score affair.

 

Games this Week:

 

As I mentioned above, the Dolphins lost to the Bills last night and did not look to me like a team that merely needed to “work out a few wrinkles”.  I know the Bills are a good team and were favored in the game, but it never seemed to me that the Dolphins were threatening to win that contest even though the final score was only a 10-point difference.

 

Colts – 4 at Titans (43):  Here is a bit of trivia for you:

• The Indy Colts are the first team in the history of the NFL to score on all of their first ten possessions in a season.

The Titans and Cam Ward are still “figuring things out”.  But can the Colts and Daniel Jones really continue to keep up that sort of offensive efficiency?  I am tempted to take the Colts but will resist that temptation for now…

Falcons – 4.5 at Panthers (44):  I liked what I saw from the Falcons last week as they beat the Vikes in Minnesota. The Falcons’ pass rush was impressive; that is not something that I would have said about the Falcons over the past year or two.  I think the Falcons can control this game, so I’ll take the Falcons and lay the points; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Raiders at Commanders – 4 (44):  Jayden Daniels will not play here; Marcus Mariota will be the QB for the Commanders.  The Raiders’ defense kept last week’s game close, but the Raiders’ offense was just plain bad.  Geno Smith looked lost; Ashton Jenty looked ordinary.  And now, the Raiders get to traverse 3 time zones for an early east coast start.  This would have been a difficult game to pick even with Daniels in there; now, this is a game to watch and not wager on.

Packers – 7.5 at Browns (41.5):  It’s hard to see how the Browns might win this game, but the Browns’ defense is good enough to make me afraid of that hook on top of a full TD in the spread.

Bengals at Vikes – 3 (42):  The Bengals have won two ugly games; the Vikes have played 7 ugly quarters out of eight quarters for the season.  Both teams will start backup QBs.  Call this one the Dog-Breath Game of the Week.

Rams at Eagles – 3 (43.5):  This was my runner up as the Game of the Week; it pairs two playoff teams from last year who both started out 2-0 this season.  Both teams have yet to show much offensive power in 2025 and the Total Line for this game indicates that the oddsmakers do not think this is the week when an offensive outburst is likely.

Steelers – 2 at Pats (44.5):  The Steelers’ defense is an enigma; Aaron Rodgers played one great game and one pedestrian game.  The Pats are still figuring it all out.  Just watch this one if it is on in your viewing area…

Jets at Bucs – 6 (43.5):  Justin Fields is still in concussion protocol as of this morning; so, the starting QB for the Jets is still up in the air.  I think the Bucs will make life difficult for any and all Jets’ QBs here.  I like the way the Bucs are playing with the mix of running and passing; give me the Bucs at home to win and cover; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Texans at Jags – 1 (44):  The Texans are 0-2 and they arrive here on a short week after losing on Monday last week.  I know it’s early in the season, but this feels like a division game that the Texans can ill afford to lose.

Broncos at Chargers – 3.5 (45.5):  This will be the third division game in a row for the Chargers; it seems to me that is not a typical way for a team to start their season.  These are two good teams, and this game got a fleeting thought as the Game of the Week.  The Cowboys/Bears game will be the national game in the late Sunday afternoon time slot; I would prefer to watch this game.

Saints at Seahawks – 7.5 (41.5):  The Saints are not very good – – but I am not so sure the Seahawks are that much better.

Cowboys – 1 at Bears (50):  This is just me talking here, but I think this game is a referendum on Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams.  The Cowboys’ defense has been nothing better than BAD so far this year; this is a wake-up call for the “Offensive Genius” and the “Generational Talent”.  The Bears’ defense may give up 40+ points again here, but the key is the Bears’ offense.  If the Bears cannot get some business done against the Cowboys’ defense, it is going to be a LONG season in Chicago.

Cards at Niners – 3 (45.5):  This is a division game.  Both teams are 2-0.  Both teams have won close games to get their record to where it is.  So, why does this game excite me about the same way as a hard-boiled egg excites me?

(Sun Nite) Chiefs – 5.5 at Giants (45):  Both teams are 0-2; the Chiefs probably figure that a win here will set their course for playoff contention down the line; if the Giants think that way, they are delusional.

(Mon Nite) Lions at Ravens – 5 (53):  This is the Game of the Week.  The Lions’ offense erupted last week for 50+ points’ the Ravens’ offense has been on fire for both games this year.  This could well be one of those games where the team that has the ball last will win the game.

So, let me review the three-element “Betting Bundle”:

• Tulsa +13.5 versus Ole Miss
• Falcons – 4.5 over Panthers
• Bucs – 6 over Jets

And just for fun, here are three Money Line Parlays:

• Falcons @ minus-230
• Chiefs @ minus-285             $100 wager to win $91

And …

• Colts @ minus-210
• Bucs @ minus-270                $100 wager to win $102

And …

• BYU @ minus-230
• Oklahoma @ minus-235       $100 wager to win $105

Finally, this from former Vikes’ coach, Bud Grant:

“You have to remember one thing: Football is entertainment; it’s not life or death. Once the game is over, you’re already talking about next year and the draft. It’s just entertainment.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

            As Michael Wilbon says to kick off the show, “Pardon the interruption …”  When I awoke last Wednesday, I found that my computer had gone to the great byte box in the sky overnight.  It took about a day to confirm that it could not be resuscitated and that a replacement was needed.  The rest of my “unexcused absence” was spent waiting for a new one to arrive and then to schedule assistance in setting it up.  Most of the files came back from wherever they exist on the Internet in a safe and sound condition; only a few are corrupted and about half of those can be “translated” into English without much difficulty.

So, maybe I should invoke the opening line of the song that Gene Autry crooned at the start of his TV program back in the 1950s:

“I’m back in the saddle again …”

About a week ago, I mentioned the passing of Ken Dryden and noted that I had just then learned that he was doing the color commentary for Al Michaels in the famous Olympic hockey game that produced the catch phrase, “Do you believe in miracles?”  Well, I now know – since my email is working again – that there is more to the story than that.  Thanks to the “reader in Houston” and his treasure trove of sports history, here is a lot more to that event:

“Another piece of trivia that most may not remember is that the game was shown on tape delay, as the Olympic schedule was decided before the tournament and it dictated that that the game between the top team in one division was to play the second-place team in the other division at 5 PM ET. It turned out those two teams were the USSR and US. Sweden and Finland were to follow at 8 PM ET.

“When preliminary play ended and the US advanced to the Medal Round, ABC wanted to obviously switch the order of the games to air the US game in primetime to most of the country, but the Olympic Committee said ‘no dice’ or something to that effect.

“The US-USSR game started at 5 PM with no live coverage. Back then they could probably get away with it because cell phones and cable TV were rare and text messaging, the Internet, Twitter (X), etc., were not around yet.

“As the game was going on in the Olympic Center (now Herb Brooks Arena) with fans waving American flags and chanting ‘U-S-A’ almost non-stop, those in the outside world were mostly unaware of what was going on.

“When ABC went on the air that night, the only hint that something was up was the delirious fans in the background as Jim McKay was doing a live introduction. Unfortunately, Jim did not give TV viewers any explanation why everyone was in such a joyful mood, so as not to mess things up.

“And then ABC went to the tape. Michaels and Dryden stayed in their seats to comment on the Sweden-Finland game just in case there was a problem with the US-USSR tape and ABC had to cut into live action in Sweden-Finland.”

And I just thought I was watching a hockey game …

Moving on …  Since I was mentioning a “sports on TV moment” here, let me take another moment to comment on sports broadcasting and sports TV now.  FS1 has begun to air a new program in the morning originated by Barstool Sports.  I have now tried on three different mornings to settle down and watch it for several segments to “get in the flow”.  I simply cannot do that; it is unwatchable.  FS1 has a competitive array of programming for most of the day but in the four hours between 8:00 AM and Noon (ET) on weekdays, they might just as well have dead air as far as I am concerned.

Tom Brady seems to have done some serious homework on how to be a color analyst on TV over the football offseason.  I have heard him twice now and he is offering insights and critiques this year instead of pabulum.  That is good on him and good for fans who will see him do the FOX premier game of the week.

I also like the pairing of JJ Watt with Ian Eagle on CBS a lot.  This is a broadcasting team that might become top shelf one of these days.

Rich Eisen and Kurt Warner did the “Brazil Game” on You Tube.  I thought they did a fine job with the audio portion of the game; the video portion was not nearly as good as productions here in the States at venues that are familiar to the folks who have to set up and maintain the equipment for the games.

Finally, since today is a “comeback” of sorts for me, I will close with this observation by Peyton Manning about comebacks:

“You hear about how many fourth quarter comebacks that a guy has and I think it means a guy screwed up in the first three quarters.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Ken Dryden died last weekend at the age of 78; he had been battling cancer for several years.  Dryden was the goalkeeper for the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970s and helped the club win six Stanley Cup Championships in his career.  He also won the Vezina Trophy five times during his tenure with the Canadiens.  One piece of trivia that I learned while reading about his passing is that Ken Dryden was the color commentator beside Al Michaels in the US/USSR ice hockey game that gave rise to the catch phrase, “Do you believe in miracles?”

Rest in peace, Ken Dryden.

The 2025 English Premier League season is still in its infancy; each team has played 3 games (fixtures) to date.  Liverpool is first in the standings (atop the table) as the only team (side) to have won all three of its matches.  There are two teams in the EPL that call the city of  Liverpool home; the other one is Everton which is actually older than the Liverpool team having been founded in 1878.  Everton has a new stadium that just opened last month; the new facility is called Hill Dickinson Stadium, and it seats just under 53,000 fans for Everton matches.  The name derives from a naming rights agreement between the Everton club and a law firm in the city of Liverpool.

A new stadium for Everton is a slightly bigger deal than just the structure.  Since 1892, Everton had played its home games in Goodison Park in Liverpool.  Obviously, the facility underwent renovations and upgrades and facelifts over about 130 years, but after a long and protracted planning process and lots of starts and stops regarding financing, Everton will have a new home and Goodison Park will be demolished and relegated to sports history/memory.

As is often the case, new stadium facilities attract large signature events.  Hill Dickinson Stadium has only been open for a couple of months, but they have already booked the 2025 Rugby League Ashes as the Australian rugby team comes to play in England.  In addition, the UAEFA Championship in 2028 will be hosted by Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland and Hill Dickinson Stadium will be one of the venues in England for that tournament.

As you might imagine, there is a rivalry between Liverpool and Everton; the fact that the two stadiums are less than 2 miles apart – – as the crow flies – – adds to the rivalry.  The EPL was founded in 1992; both Everton and Liverpool were charter members of the league.  In fact, both sides had been major forces in English futbol prior to the existence of the EPL:

• Liverpool had been in the top-tier of English futbol ever since 1962.  The team had been relegated out of what was then the top league in 1954 and finally clawed its way back into that elite status in 1962.
• Everton was last relegated out of the top level of English futbol at the close of the season in 1951.  Their tenure in a status below the top level was brief; they earned their way back to the top in 1954 and have remained there ever since.

Everton is in fifth place in the EPL table as of this morning having won two matches and played to a draw in the other.  Liverpool and Everton will meet in the new stadium in less than two weeks.  It should be a new chapter for a longstanding rivalry.

Having mentioned Liverpool’s presence in the EPL since the creation of the EPL, let me add another noteworthy stat.

• Since the creation of the EPL more than 30  years ago, Liverpool has never finished worse than 8^th place (in a 20-team league) for a season.
• With the relegation/promotion process that exists in English – – and European – – futbol, the EPL does represent the top level of competition in the sport there.  Having never finished below 8^th place is a measure of consistency not often found in sports.

Switching gears …  I got an email from #2 son with the following history/trivia regarding the Philadelphia Eagles:

“Just read a fascinating stat, courtesy of Draft Kings…

“With the win against the Cowboys this week, the total record for the Philadelphia Eagles is now 639-639-27. This is the first time they have had an overall .500 record since …. 1933, when they were 3-3-1 (They finished that year 3-5-1 and have had an overall losing record since.)”

Finally, here is a blessing – – of sorts – – from George Carlin:

“May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Today marks the return to the Internet of Football Fridays in full bloom.  We have college football in progress; we saw the start of the NFL regular season last night; Linfield University kicks off its pursuit of another winning record in football tomorrow.  Order has been restored to the football world.

Let me begin with a review of last week’s “Betting Bundle” and “Money Line Parlays”

“Bundle”:       Last week:  1-2-0 (Not good but the season is early)

                        Season:  1-2-0

Parlays:          Last week:  1-1  Profit $28

                        Season:  1-2  Loss $72

            Turning now to the Linfield Wildcats’ game this weekend, the team is at home to play an out-of-conference game against the Titans of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.  These two teams met last year in Oshkosh and the Titans prevailed 28-21 in overtime.  The Wildcats should be looking to return the favor of all that traveling by the Titans squad.  Go Wildcats!

My “sleeper team” for 2025 is Georgia Tech.  The Yellowjackets got their season off on a solid footing beating Colorado 27-20.  Tech had a better presence on the stat sheet than on the scoreboard gaining 463 yards in the game while holding Colorado to 305 yards.  Tech QB, Haynes King, had an interesting game.  His passing stats were “Meh!”:

• 13 of 20 for 143  yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT

However, his legs made up for his arm’s deficiency:

• 19 carries for 156 yards and 3 TDs

Tech has a “tune-up game” this week hosting Gardner-Webb as a prelude to Game 3 of the season for Tech when they host 8^th ranked Clemson.  Go Yellowjackets!

 

College Football Commentary:

 

Let me start in classic curmudgeonly fashion by pointing out a couple of bad starts to the 2025 season from last week.  Middle Tennessee St. is hardly a college football blueblood; I doubt that too many Blue Raiders’ fans aspire to a New Year’s Day bowl bid let alone a chance to experience the CFP.  Nonetheless, Middle Tennessee St. started 2025 by getting clocked by Austin-Peay – – a Division 1-AA school from the Ohio Valey conference that went 4-8 last  year playing the likes of Alabama A&M, Southern Utah and West Georgia.  One historical note here, the last time Austin Peay beat a Division 1-A football team was in 1987 when they managed to beat K-State back at a time when K-State was awful.  Two stats from this game to give you an idea of how Middle Tennessee St. got its lunch handed to it:

• Middle Tennessee St. Total Offense = 153 yards
• Middle Tennessee State 3^rd down conversions = 0 for 12.

Another game made me wonder if it was a good omen for Tulane or a bad omen for Northwestern – – or both.  Tulane prevailed last week 23-3 holding Northwestern to only 233 yards of Total Offense while amassing 419 yards of offense on its own.  Tulane plays in the American Conference – – hold that thought.

USF hosted 25^th ranked Boise St. last week and won in a walk by the score of 34-7.  In case  you didn’t know, USF is also in the American Conference.  So, of course some folks have concluded that the American Conference champ will get the CFP bid as the best non-Power 4 conference champion.  There is no doubt those two wins are impressive and form the basis of building a résumé for the Committee to ponder.  However, let me look at how some of the other American Conference members began 2025:

• Army lost to Tarleton St. as a minus-500 Money Line favorite
• UAB beat Division 1-AA Alabama St. despite yielding 42 points
• Charlotte lost to Appalachian St. by 23 points
• Florida Atlantic lost to Maryland by 32 points

It looks to me as if the American Conference may have a real “mixed bag” of competitors and that could give the Selection Committee agita come December.

Purdue beat Ball St. 31-0.  Purdue was awful in 2024; so, is this evidence of a resurgent Boilermaker squad – – or is Ball St. that bad?  Between now and October 4^th, Purdue will face inter alia:

• USC, Notre Dame and Illinois.

Meanwhile in the same time frame, Ball St. will face:

• New Hampshire, UConn and Ohio.

By mid-October we should know the vector headings for these two schools…

The nation’s longest losing streak came to an end last weekend as Kent St. rose up and beat the mighty Warriors of Merrimack College by a score of 21-17.  Before Kent St. fans get irrationally exuberant, Merrimack outgained Kent St. in the game 340 yards to 309 yards.  Moreover, Division 1-AA Merrimack was a less-than-fearsome 5-6 in football in 2024.

There was a good news/bad news game last week for Oklahoma St.  Coming off a 3-9 season in 2024 and having lost the last 9 games in a row, the Cowboys needed something positive at the start of 2025.  They got that positive feeling after a 27-7 drubbing of Tennessee-Martin.  Now for the bad news:

• Oklahoma St. starting QB, Hauss Hejny, broke his foot in the game and will require surgery.

Temple beat UMass 42-10 last weekend.  I hate to overreact to early season results, but when a team loses to Temple by 32 points, that result screams SHOE Team!

Last year, Nick Saban went straight to the Bottom Line when speaking about the new NIL Era in college football:

“If you don’t pay the right guys, you’ll be sh*t out of luck.”

The football gods must have taken note because the following situation unfolded in Week 1 this year:

• Nico Iamaleava was the Tennessee QB last year.  He thought he deserved a raise in his NIL deal and Tennessee thought he was asking too much.  Iamaleava played “The Transfer Portal Card” and went west to UCLA.
• Tennessee won last week without Nico beating Syracuse 45-26.
• Meanwhile, Nico and UCLA were shellacked by Utah 43-10.  Let’s just say Nico was underwhelming in his Bruins’ debut.

And speaking of college QBs and early season reactions, Arch Manning was also underwhelming in his first game as “The Man” for the Texas Longhorns.  [Aside:  More on that later…]  Well, there is a betting market out there for which college player in 2025 will be the first pick in the NFL Draft in April 2026.  As a result of that below-expected performance by Manning his odds increased, and he is no longer the favorite in that betting space.  Two weeks ago, Manning was the betting favorite at +275 to be the first overall pick.  As of earlier this week, here is the betting lineup:

• Drew Allar (Penn State) +350
• Garrett Nussmeier (LSU)  +350
• LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina) +500
• Cade Klubnik (Clemson) +550
• Arch Manning (Texas)  +700

That is enough preamble for this week; let me comment on a few of the games that were more important from last week:

Florida St. 31  Alabama 17:  The pressure on these two coaches just underwent a tectonic shift.  Florida St. ran over the Alabama defense for 230 yards; Alabama fans are not used to seeing anything of the kind.  Meanwhile in Tallahassee, folks are falling back in love with Mike Norvell.  I think fans in Alabama need to take a deep breath and look rationally at recent Alabama football; these are not the Nick Saban version of Crimson Tide football teams.

• Last year Alabama finished with a 9-4  record losing to Vandy and an Oklahoma team that finished below .500 for the year.
• Couple those performances with a bowl game loss to Michigan and now this drubbing as a 2 TD favorite and you might think that the bloom is off the rose in Tuscaloosa.
• I am not writing Alabama off just yet, but they looked eminently beatable for four quarters of football last week.

Ohio St. 14  Texas 7:  This was a really good college football game to watch unless you are a Texas alum or your name is Arch Manning.  The Buckeyes just smothered the Longhorns offense holding Manning to 170 yards through the air; this victory belongs to that defensive unit.  The Ohio St. offense looked like a work in progress gaining only 203 yards in the game and recording only eleven first downs in the game – – and two of those eleven were via penalties.

LSU 17  Clemson 10:  Brian Kelly is off the schneid in Game 1 at LSU; this is his first win in that situation.  There were two highly regarded QBs in this game – – see Draft odds above – – but the game turned on the performance by the LSU defense; that unit held Clemson to 31 yards rushing and 261 yards of Total Offense for the game.  Clemson tried to run the ball for a while but just could not get it done.

Miami 27  Notre Dame 24:  The score was close, but I thought that Miami had the better offensive line and the better defensive line in the game.  Usually, that situation produces a much larger margin of victory.  I thought Carson Beck and CJ Carr played well at QB for the two teams.

TCU 38  UNC 14:  Call this one what it was; it was an organized ass-kicking and UNC played the role of a one-legged participant.  Here are the comparative stats:

• Total Offense: TCU = 542 yards            UNC = 222 yards
• First Downs:    TCU = 29                    UNC = 10
• Total Plays:     TCU = 72                    UNC = 49
• 3^rd Downs:       TCU = 7 of 12             UNC = 1 of 10

After the game, Bill Belichick said that the Tar Heels are “better than they showed”.  That had better be the case or it will be a long cold season in Chapel Hill, NC.

Washington St. 13  Idaho 10:  This is a rivalry game despite the difference in the size of the programs; the two schools are about 10 miles from each other.  Washington St. is clearly the “big brother” in this pairing, but this game was as close as the scoreboard would indicate.  Washington St. tried but could not run the ball gaining only 8 yards on the ground in the game.  Idaho could not throw the ball effectively gaining only 51 yards passing in the game.  The deciding score was a field goal with 3 seconds left on the clock.

Wyoming 10  Akron 0:  That score is most appropriate because the Akron nickname is The Zips” – – and they scored squadoosh in the game.

 

NCAA Games of Interest:

 

Let me start with seven games that are of little or no interest this week due to spreads of 5 TDs or more:

1. Kent St. at Texas Tech – 48
2. Ball St. at Auburn – 44
3. Florida International at Penn State – 41.5
4. San Jose St at Texas – 37
5. LA Tech at LSU – 37
6. Kennesaw St at Indiana – 36
7. La-Monroe at Alabama – 35

Iowa at Iowa St. – 3 (41):  I like this game to go OVER; Iowa St. has done well on offense in 2 games and maybe this is the time for Iowa’s offense to  be something other than somnambulant.  “Put that in the Betting Bundle”.

Stanford at BYU – 20 (46):  Stanford lost to Hawaii last week and got this stat line from its QB, Ben Gulbranson:

• 15 of 30 for 109 yards with 0 TDs and 1 INT

That was against Hawaii’s defense; this is BYU.  This game could get ugly…

Middle Tennessee St. at Wisconsin – 28.5 (45):  See above for how bad the Blue Raiders were last week.  Was that some sort of aberration or might they lose this one by 50 points?

UNC – 13 at UNC-Charlotte (49):  This spread opened at 19 points but there must be a lot of money fading the Tar Heels after last Monday night’s debacle to move the line that much and across so many commonplace scoring differences.

Austin Peay at Georgia (No Lines):  Can the Governors make it two wins in a row over Division 1-A teams?  Uh … no!

 

NFL Commentary:

 

I wonder why no one “threw out a challenge flag: on Travis Kelce’s engagement proposal over the last week or so.  Looked to me as if his foot was on the line and the proposal should be ruled incomplete.  Why no “Booth Review”?

More than enough has been written/said regarding the trade of Micah Parsons to the Packers from a game perspective and from the perspective of how Jerry Jones could have done something so stupid.  I want to ask a different question regarding that exchange:

• Did Parsons come out as the “big winner” in the deal with his monster contract from the Packers – – or – –
• Did Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, come out as the “big winner” in the deal?

Personally, I think that Mulugheta earned himself a handful of premier clients with the way everything unfolded in this transaction.  The only downside from his perspective is that Jones and the Cowboys are not likely to be working with him for one of those future clients, so his universe of potential suitors is down to 31 teams.

Circle September 28, 2025 on  your calendar; that is the day that the Green Bay Packers – – with Micah Parsons – – journey to Arlington, TX to play the Dallas Cowboys.  Should be a fun game and it is going to be the Sunday Night Football Game available to all.

Let me try again to look at a situation from a different perspective.  The Chicago Bears have not had a high-quality QB since Sid Luckman in the 1940s; that is a long time to be wandering about in the QB desert.  However, looking back at the Chicago Bears pass catchers over the last 50 years, who of that cohort was a standout?  Mike Ditka at tight end?  As I thought about this, I asked myself who was the best Chicago Bears WR that I could recall without a lengthy Google search.  Here is my answer:

• Alshon Jeffrey

So, now my thinking is that the Bears have never had a good QB and that they have never had a wide receiver – – or two – – who might make a good QB appear to be great?  You folks made the call …

In last night’s Eagles/Cowboys game, there were more than enough storylines and angles for the broadcasting crew to exploit from their pregame notes.  Forget that, Jalen Carter – – who is simultaneously the best interior DT in the NFL and also a physical 24-year-old with the emotional maturity of a 7-year-old – – was ejected from the game before the first play from scrimmage.  He deserved his punishment; he needs to get his brain somewhere near the level of his physical body; the Eagles managed to win last night’s game simply because the Cowboys were also playing without their best defender – – Micah Parsons.

Forget the delay due to lightning strikes in the area of the game, this was not a tour de force of efficiently executed plays by either team on offense or on defense.  The Eagles came away with a win on the night that they unveiled their Super Bowl banner from 2024 leaving their fans with a warm – – and possibly inebriated – – feeling for the day.

 

Games This Week:

 

Let me start with a general observation.  Forgetting last night’s Eagles/Cowboys game, there are 15 games on tap for NFL bettors to consider.  Of those 15 games offered up for wagering consideration, as I count- –  ten of the games have a line equal to or less than a field goal.  Is that due to parity run amok or is that due to lots of teams seeking to run the football successfully thereby taking scoring time off the clock and ushering in an era of low scoring NFL football games?

Speaking of last night’s Eagles/Cowboys game, a report this morning characterized Jalen Carter’s ejection from the game as a “non-football act” which was deemed punishable by banishment.  Come on, now; they have him on video spitting on Dak Prescott.  Yes, it appears as if Prescott spit also – – but not on Carter; nonetheless Carter’s behavior goes beyond childishness and crosses into the realm of boneheadedness.

            In any case, the Eagles managed to defend their championship status last night despite Jalen Carter’s absence and the fact that AJ Brown only caught 1 pass for a total of 8 yards.  Last night was the Jalen Hurts show; he led the team in passing and rushing scoring two TDs along the way.  It was not pretty, but the Eagles’ defense shut out the Cowboys in the second half when they needed to do so.

(Tonite) Chiefs – 3 vs Chargers (46.5) Game is in Sao Paulo Brazil:  This will be the fourth time the Chiefs have played a game outside the US; the team is undefeated when assigned one of the “International Games”.  The Chiefs will be without Rashee Rice who will miss the first 6 games this season due to a league suspension.  If you read my previous predictions for this NFL season, you know that I picked the Chargers to win the AFC West; so now you know why I am taking the Chargers plus points in this game.  I think Jim Harbaugh will have the Chargers primed and ready to go even more than Andy Reid will have his team ready for action.  Give me the Chargers plus the points; put it in the “Betting Bundle”.

Steelers – 3 at Jets (38):  As if on cue, the NFL gives us a revenge game in Week 1.  Aaron Rodgers goes up against his teammates from last year and Justin Fields does the same.  If only I cared about either QB …

Dolphins at Colts “pick’em” (47):  Here is a game where shopping the spread could matter.  At one sportsbook this morning, the Dolphins are favored by 1.5 points; at a handful the Dolphins are favored by a point; at other sportsbooks, the Colts are 1-point favorites, and more than a handful of sportsbooks have this as a “pick ‘em game”.  Here is a trend that might have something to do with this game:

• The Colts have lost the season opening games in each of the last 11 NFL  seasons.

Panthers at Jags – 3.5 (47):  The Panthers were 2-point favorites in this game, and I have no insight  as to how or why the line has moved so dramatically.  I will be interested to see how the Jags’ offense – – and particularly Trevor Lawrence – – fares in this game and in the first few games of this season because lots of folks think that pairing Lawrence with new head coach, Liam Coen, is going to be a big deal in the AFC South Division.

Giants at Commanders – 6 (46):  Here are two teams arriving at the kickoff with lots of optimism.  The Giants are convinced that their QB situation is significantly upgraded with Russell Wilson at the helm – – and with wunderkind Jaxson Dart ready and able in the bullpen so to speak.  Also, the word out of the Giants’ training camp is the Abdul Carter may indeed be the second coming of Lawrence Taylor.  On the other side, the Commanders are riding the wave of a 12-win season in 2024.  The last time that happened with a Washington NFL team was back in 1991 when the Skins won the Super Bowl.

Bengals – 5 at Browns (48):  Just in case fans in Ohio might be paying too much attention to Ohio State football, the NFL leads off with “The Battle for Ohio”.  The game could become very interesting because the Bengals’ offense versus the Browns’ defense pairs two excellent units.  At the same time, the Bengals’ defense versus the Browns’ offense pairs two woebegone units.  So, how will all that manifest itself on Sunday?  The Bengals are notoriously slow starters; they began the 2022 and 2023 seasons with 0-2 records; last year, they opened at 0-3.  Can they find a way to get that monkey off their back?

Raiders at Pats – 2.5 (44):  Way back in the offseason, the Raiders were 7-point favorites in this game; I have no explanation for that large a swing in the betting line for this game.  Both teams were 4-13-0 in 2024 and both teams fired first year head coaches once the season was done.  Mike Vrabel in New England and Pete Carrol in Las Vegas come to their current jobs with lofty expectations from their fanbase.

Cards – 6 at Saints (43):  I picked the Cards to win the NFC West this year; this game will tell me a lot about the viability of that prediction.  The Cards have a distinct advantage at QB in the game, but the Cards have a history of not coming through with a full exploitation of talent advantages.  If the Cards are “for real”, they should romp and stomp here.  I like the Cards to show up ready for action meaning they will demonstrate that they are the better team.  I’ll take them to win and cover even on the road; put that in the “Betting Bundle”.

Bucs – 2 at Falcons (47):  Here is another game where the favored team has flipped since the start of Training Camp.  More than a few pickers think that the Bucs will take a step back this year due to the absence of their Offensive Coordinator from 2024.

Titans at Broncos – 9 (42.5):  Breaking in a rookie QB against a defense that is as good and as aggressive as the Broncos’ defense might not be the optimum way to go.  But the schedule-makers have spoken …

Niners – 2 at Seahawks (43):  The Niners opened as a 6.5-point favorite; I have no idea what either team has done over the last two weeks to cause that swing in the spread.  But late this week, a report said that Christian McCaffrey was “limited” in a team practice due to a “calf injury”.  The Niners have already had a season’s worth of nagging injuries and player/team kerfuffles.  I think the winner of this game will be the team that is more ready to play a “for real” game as opposed to an extension of the Exhibition Season.

Lions at Packers – 2.5 (47):  The Lions were 2-point favorites here – – and then the Micah Parsons trade happened and that line shifted almost immediately.  That does not make a lot of sense to me because Parsons has not practiced or played in quite a while and has not had more than a passing glance at the Packers defensive playbook.  I have no doubt Parsons will be a factor once he gets into the rhythm of a regular season, but that time is not this weekend.  It will be interesting to see how the Lions look with their two new coordinators running the show.  I smell a small upset here; I’ll take the Lions plus the points; put that in the “Betting Bundle”. 

Texans at Rams – 3 (43):  I think both teams are going to be in tight quarters when it comes down to playoff slots; therefore, this game is a big one even if it is an inter-conference game and it happens in Week 1.  Matthew Stafford did not play in the Exhibition Games and has been nursing a “back injury”; we may be able to determine by his mobility in this game if all of that was real or just a smokescreen.

(Sun Nite) Ravens- 1  at Bills  (51):  I will anoint this as the Game of the Week just edging out the Chargers/Chiefs game.  If you told me that  you thought this could also be the pairing in the AFC Championship Game in January 2026, I would not expend a lot of effort to change your mind.

(Mon Nite) Vikes – 1 at Bears (44):  Call this “The Question Mark Game”.

• Is JJ McCarthy the real deal for the Vikes?
• What is more likely, the Vikes winning the division or finishing last in the division?
• Is the marriage of Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams the start of a dynasty?

So, let me review this week’s “Betting Bundle”:

• Iowa/Iowa St. OVER 41
• Chargers +3 against Chiefs
• Lions +2 against Packers
• Cards – 6 over Saints

And for Money Line Parlays this week:

• Commanders @ minus-250
• Jaguars @ minus-190            $100 wager to win $113

And …

• Ole Miss @ minus-320
• Tulane @ minus-370
• Syracuse @ minus-240          $100 wager to win $136

And …

• Lions @ +120
• Broncos @ minus-400
• Cards @ minus-275                $100 wager to win $275

Finally, this from Nick Saban:

“I played so long ago, I don’t think anybody even knew you could transfer. I don’t think they knew anything about it.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

George Raveling died.  He was a successful basketball coach at USC and at Washington State.  He cut his teeth in the college basketball world as Lefty Drisell’s top recruiter when Lefty was about the business of resurrecting basketball at Maryland.  The moment of his coaching career that I recall was a time when he was at USC and their next game was at Arizona which was ranked #1 in the country at the time.  Raveling was asked how he was preparing for that challenge.  He said that he realized the level of “greatness” exhibited by Arizona and so he had gone to the library to get a copy of the Japanese Surrender Papers so he could submit them just before tip-off.

Rest in peace, George Raveling.

A September MLB game between Team A (record = 52-88) and Team B (record = 62-77) is normally worth what Daniel Patrick Moynihan once called “benign neglect”.  However, in one specific circumstance where Team A is the Chicago White Sox and Team B is the Minnesota Twins, there is a nugget of interest.

The White Sox trailed 3-1 at the end of the 8^th inning but rallied to score 3 runs in the top of the ninth to win the game 4-3.  Up until that moment, the Chicago White Sox had lost 205 consecutive games when they trailed going into the ninth inning.  That is a level of frustration and incompetence that needs to be appreciated now that it no longer stands.

Moving on …  When the Eagles and Cowboys kick off tonight and put the NFL regular season in motion, the football season is officially “fully functional”.  That means I will listen to play-by-play guys and color analysts doing various games for multiple hundreds of hours.  That means I am certain to be exposed to three manipulations of the English language that have become commonplace in sports broadcasting.  Would that I were able to expunge them …

1. “Hostile environment”:  In a football game, that means one team has the benefit of noisy, raucous and devoted fans while the other team must endure insults slung their way by said noisy, raucous and devoted fans.  Big deal…  A hostile environment is Gaza City in the summer of 2025; a hostile environment is  the Atacama Desert in Northern Chile where it rains about once every two decades; a hostile environment is not needing to endure being the visitors in a football game.
2. “Line to gain”:  Somehow, this phrase replaced “first down” or “first down marker”.  Players now fail – or succeed – in making the line to gain.  No longer does a player make or fail to make a first down.  Has this been a net positive for the English language?  Does the English language now get a new set of downs?
3. “Running downhill”:  Football is played on a level surface that is ever so slightly sloped toward each sideline to facilitate drainage when it rains.  No one runs downhill or uphill or east/west or north/south.  Players run towards and away from their goal lines.  Period.

            Switching gears …  I have a nugget of good news to share today.  March Madness in 2026 will not expand; it will continue to invite 68 teams to compete.  There is no sporting reason and no groundswell of fan interest in expanding the Tournament.  The only people suggesting it would be a good idea are coaches who have bonus clauses in their contracts for making the Tournament field or business execs who always look at ways to wring the greatest number of dollars out of any and all situations.  At least for the moment, we have been spared from the consequences of the NCAA listening to the pleadings of those sorts of folks.

Finally, these from Will Rogers:

“It isn’t what we don’t know that gives us trouble, it’s what we know that ain’t so.”

And …

“Everything is funny, as long as it’s happening to somebody else.”

And …

“When the Oakies left Oklahoma and moved to California, it raised the I.Q. of both states.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Let me get one thing out of the way immediately; the Washington Nationals should never have expected to be a playoff team in 2025 back when they reported to Spring Training in February.  The team has several young players who – when they develop their games to the fullest – will be serious major league properties.  But 2025 was never going to be that year.  Injuries and a catastrophic month of June placed this young team under a cloud cover worthy of Joe Btfsplk [Hat Tip: Al Capp].  Even now, with the team firmly ensconced in last place in the NL East, the bad news and the what ifs rain down on the Nats.

One of the young players whose future seems bright in MLB is left-hander MacKenzie Gore.  The Nats got him from the Padres in the Juan Soto trade a couple of years ago and Gore was the #3 pick in the MLB Draft in his year.  No one has mistaken him for Clayton Kershaw just  yet, but he gave every indication that he could be the Nats’ “top-of-the-rotation guy”  pretty soon.  In fact, Gore was named to the All-Star Game in July of this year and in the games leading up to the All-Star Game he ranked second in the NL in strikeouts.

At the trade deadline, there were rumblings that the Nats might consider trading Gore for what would probably have been another bucket of prospects.  There was some rationale to that thinking then:

• The Nats’ farm system is not overflowing with top prospects
• It is going to be a couple of years until the Nats are real contenders
• Gore could be hard to sign; his agent is Scott Boras

The Nats interim braintrust – – they fired the manager and the GM in the leadup to the trade deadline – – opted to keep Gore on the team presumably thinking of him as their “top-of-the-rotation” starter very soon.  And that is where Joel Btfsplk and his cloud enter stage left…

• MacKenzie Gore ERA prior to All-Star Game = 3.04
• MacKenzie Gore ERA after All-Star Game = 7.54
• MacKenzie Gore is now on the 15-day IL with “shoulder inflammation”

MacKenzie Gore’s trade value – – should the Nats reconsider that option over the winter – – is probably diminished from what it was at the All-Star break.  For the MLB 2025 season, the Nats have not been able to catch a break even as well as one might catch a cold.

Moving on …  A couple of months ago, reports had it that Malik Beasley – – an NBA free agent looking for a new team and a new deal – – was a target of a federal investigation into “gambling”.  As you might imagine, that cooled off the market for his services significantly and immediately.  Late last week, the direction of this story changed significantly; the investigation is not finished, but Beasly is no longer a target of the investigation by the Feds.  So, all’s well that ends well, right?

Well, maybe …  Some reports have said that while Beasley is not a target of the investigation, he is still under investigation and might possibly still be accused of something involved with this probe.  Sports leagues take an even dimmer view of “gambling involvement” than the Feds do.  The PR folks in every professional sports league have at the ready a whole suite of statements/reactions to any sort of gambling allegation associated with their league.  It would not surprise me to learn that they have all of them filed under the heading:

• Integrity of the game

So, while Malik Beasley might not worry so much about the Feds when it comes to “punishment”, he is not necessarily out of the woods when it comes to Adam Silver handing out “punishment”.  There have to be a half-dozen words and phrases in the NBA Personal Conduct Policy – – or whatever it is called these days – – that could be applied to Beasley and his peripheral association with the ongoing investigation.  Moreover, the league has a positive motivation to mete out some punishment here on the theory that such a punishment might act as a deterrent for any other player to find himself named in any way by a federal gambling investigation.

NBA Training Camps start in 3 weeks; many teams have already set their rosters without considering the possibility of retaining the services of Malik Beasley.  His agents have work to do and not a whole lot of time to get it done.  And they must work in an environment where their client might still be charged with something by the Feds and/or be subject to the wrath of Adam Silver.  Those agents will earn their commission on this one.

Switching gears …  As of this morning, the Colorado Rockies have a run differential of minus-352 runs in 2025.  The Rockies have 24 more games to play and at the rate they are winning games this year, that means their record over the final 24 games should be 7-17.  That also means that one should expect the Rockies’ run differential to get even worse than it is today.  So, why is that worth considering this morning?

• The All-Time Record for worst run differential in a season was set by the Boston Red Sox in 1932 at minus-349 runs.
• The Rockies have already sunk below that level and look to put some distance between their “new record” the one that had stood for 93 years.

Finally, this from Lee Trevino:

“Only bad golfers are lucky. They’re the ones bouncing balls off trees, curbs, turtles and cars. Good golfers have bad luck. When you hit the ball straight, a funny bounce is bound to be unlucky.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………

 

 

Last week’s rants were overloaded with stuff about football; so, today I want to circle back and comment on things happening in other dimensions of the sports world.  There is what I consider to be Good News and Bad News around sports broadcasting from last week; I’ll start with the Bad News.

• Former Villanova basketball coach, Jay Wright, announced that he will not be returning to CBS/TNT next March as one of the studio analysts for March Madness.  I consider that “Bad News” because I thought he was excellent in that role; his contributions to the discussions were not smothered in coach-speak and they often highlighted a subtlety of the game that had eluded the other commentators.  He left the door open about returning to the networks in the future but for now he said he wanted to devote his time and energy to his family and to his role as “Special Assistant to the President of Villanova”.

Bonne chance, Jay Wright – and thank you for your insights …

There are two entries in the “Good News Menu”:

1. ESPN announced that they will change up the announcing team for next year’s NBA Finals.  Mike Breen will return on play-by-play and Richard Jefferson will return as one of the color commentators.  Doris Burke will be replaced by Tim Legler.  I won’t pretend that I know enough about Legler as a game analyst to be overjoyed by his ascension into that role; I do know that I will not miss Doris Burke very much in that role.  I said here before that I did not think she added value to the telecast with her comments.
2. According to a report by Richard Deitsch in The Athletic, FOX Sports will have Ian Darke doing play-by-play next summer for the FIFA World Cup games here in North America.  Darke has been associated with soccer broadcasting around the world for the last 30 years or so; he has been a favorite of mine since I first heard him do games back in 2010.  I have said here before that no one tunes into a game just to hear the announcer(s) and I stand by that statement.  In the case of Ian Darke calling World Cup games, I will be glad to hear his voice on the microphone when I do choose to tune in.  The World Cup will expand to 48 teams for the first time in 2026 meaning there will be a total of 104 games in the entire tournament.  Ian Darke should have plenty of opportunities to ply his trade next summer.

Moving on …  Last week, Kyle Schwarber hit four home runs in a game and had a plate appearance in the 8^th inning with a chance to hit a fifth one – – a feat that no one has ever done in MLB.  Some interesting historical tidbits came out of that game:

• Only 21 players in MLB history have ever hit four home runs in a game.  No player has ever done it twice.
• Schwarber is the fourth Phillies player to do so; Mike Schmidt, Chuck Klein and Ed Delahanty are the other three.  The Phillies are the only MLB team to have four players on that rather exclusive list.
• Going into the 2025 season, the last time a player hit four home runs in a single game was in 2017 when JD Martinez did it.  In 2025, there have been three players to accomplish this feat – – Nick Kurtz (A’s) and Eugenio Suarez (D-Backs) before Schwarber.
• Schwarber accomplished this feat against the Atlanta Braves pitching staff.  Interestingly, when Suarez went deep 4 times in a game earlier this yar, it was also against the Atlanta Braves pitching staff.
• The first player to hit four home runs in a game was Bobby Lowe of the Boston Beaneaters in 1894.  In that season, Lowe hit a total of only 17 home runs in 678 plate appearances.  In fact, over his 18-year career in MLB, Bobby Lowe only hit 71 home runs meaning he averaged only 3.9 home runs per season – – and yet he got 4 of them in a single game.
• Baseball is a funny game …

Next up …I am sure you have heard and read more than enough about the Cowboys’ decision to trade Micah Parsons to the Packers.  I doubt if you care to know my take on who won the trade or how the negotiations with the Cowboys ran off the rails or anything of that sort.  But there is an aspect to that situation that I do want to address.

• In the aftermath of the trade, a couple of reports appeared saying that Micah Parsons was a “bad teammate” and that he was a “me first guy”.

Let me be clear; I don’t know Micah Parsons or any other member of the Dallas Cowboys team or coaching staff.  I do not even have third hand knowledge of how he fit in with his teammates or did not fit in.  Having said that, I have a problem with the reporting here.

Micah Parsons had been part of the Dallas Cowboys organization for four years.  Until last weekend, no such reporting was out and about in the land.  And yet, we have reporters and commentators who present themselves as “insiders”.  So, riddle me this:

1. Did they “know” about this malignant aspect of Micah Parsons’ presence on the team all along and fail to tell the story?  OR
2. Did they “not know” about any of this until last weekend?

It seems to me that neither of the two options above place the putative “insiders” in a favorable light.  Either they “hid the story” – – meaning I should be skeptical about some if not all their “reporting” – – or they are not nearly as “inside” as they are made out to be.  You make the call …

Finally, an interesting viewpoint by George F. Will:

“The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.”

But don’t get me wrong, I love sports………