The Mets earned a much-needed victory on Tuesday night to start their three-game series against the Washington Nationals. Washington might have a better record than the Mets, but this is a franchise that signaled that it plans to continue rebuilding in 2026 with its offseason trade of ace pitcher Mackenzie Gore. Last night, the Mets handled the Nationals like a veteran team should handle a rebuilding one and won 8-0 behind six strong innings from Clay Holmes.

Clay was lights out 😤 pic.twitter.com/F7a16DOfGj

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 29, 2026

The offense woke up as well with a spark provided by Bo Bichette and his leadoff, opposite-field home run off of struggling Washington starter Zack Littell. New York really got the offense cranked up when Marcus Semien bounced a ground ball to third base with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. It looked like Nationals third baseman Jorbit Vivas had a chance to turn a devastating, inning-ending double play, but the ball slipped under his glove and rolled down the left field line to plate a pair of runs.

SOTO makes it a SEVEN-RUN inning 😤 pic.twitter.com/pEfOvEgKSx

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 29, 2026

That error opened the floodgates for the Mets, as Carson Benge roped Littell’s next pitch into center field to plate Semien. After another single by Ronnie Mauricio and a long sac fly to right field by Bichette, Juan Soto capped the rally with a two-run home run to left field. Now the score was 8-0 Mets, and they cruised to victory thanks to Holmes’ continued excellence.

Holmes, Nolan McLean, and Freddy Peralta have given the Mets a strong top of the rotation, but the last two spots have been hard to figure out because of how terrible Kodai Senga and David Peterson have been. With Senga landing on the injured list yesterday, Christian Scott will get another chance to prove himself as a big leaguer following his disaster of a season debut on Thursday against Minnesota. Peterson was ousted from the rotation a couple of weeks ago, but tonight he’ll get a chance to redeem himself thanks to two solid long relief outings and a lack of better options.

On the Washington side will be Opening Day starter Cade Cavalli, who has a 4.01 ERA this season despite allowing 29 hits and 12 walks in 24.2 innings this season for a 1.66 WHIP. Cavalli was sharp in his last start with 10 strikeouts and no walks in five innings against Atlanta.

Last night was a lot of fun for me because the Knicks also won in blowout fashion. I said before the game that the Knicks needed to defeat the Hawks at Madison Square Garden in Game 5 of their first round playoff series in order to be taken seriously as a title contender. The Knicks passed the test with a 126-97 win that featured 39 points and eight assists from Jalen Brunson. New York’s defense held new nemesis CJ McCollum to just six points on 3-for-10 shooting.

played our game and got the dub on home court 💪 pic.twitter.com/fBpGeSPgZA

— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 29, 2026

Another good sign for the Knicks’ title hopes was Boston’s shocking loss to Philadelphia in another Game 5. The Celtics were supposed to wrap up the series easily at home, but they were outscored 28-11 in the fourth quarter and lost 113-97 while shooting just 40 percent from the field and 28 percent from three-point range. The 76ers were led by 33 points and eight assists from Joel Embiid. Boston still leads the series 3-2, but it will have to win in Philadelphia to avoid a Game 7 that seemed impossible a day ago.

The dreadful loss by the Celtics combined with top seed Detroit falling behind Orlando 3-1 makes me feel a lot better about the Knicks’ chances to reach the NBA Finals than I did at the start of the NBA Playoffs. Now it’s time to wrap up this series in Atlanta!

Just when it looked like the Mets were moving on from their 12-game losing streak and getting ready to make a serious run at the Postseason, they went and got swept by the Colorado Rockies, sinking to 9-19 for the season. Following two straight win over the Twins on Wednesday night and Thursday night, the Mets were big favorites against Colorado in the series opener on Friday, but couldn’t take advantage due to three ground-ball double plays and staff “ace” Freddy Peralta crumbling in the fifth and sixth innings.

McDouble! pic.twitter.com/icQQi9VVbc

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 25, 2026

The first double play came in the bottom of the second after Brett Baty doubled and Mark Vientos hit and infield single to set up the Mets for a big inning. However, Marcus Semien ensured the Mets would only score once when he hit a one-hopper to Tyler Freeman at second base that gave the Rockies two outs for the price of one run and allowed Michael Lorenzen to work deep into the ballgame.

That would be the only New York run until the eighth inning, when the Mets would rally against Colorado reliever Jaden Hill. Ronnie Mauricio, Bo Bichette, and Francisco Alvarez all singled to load the bases with one out. Baty then came through with a base hit up the middle to drive in a pair and put the tying run in scoring position. Finally the Mets were stringing some clutch hits together in a game that they needed to have! Colorado changed pitchers to Antonio Senzatela and Citi Field was ready for one more big knock, but instead we got the most brutal double play of the evening. Mark Vientos ripped a line drive to the opposite field, but it went straight into Freeman’s glove, and he easily doubled pinch-runner Tommy Pham off second base to end the inning.

That was a tough way to lose a ballgame, but it was even tougher to watch the Mets’ offense during Sunday’s doubleheader. The first game was a great opportunity to get back on the winning track, with Nolan McLean on the mound and the lineup taking on former Mets southpaw Jose Quintana. New York loaded the bases with one out in the first, but failed to score because Semien and Baty struck out. The Mets wouldn’t reach base again until Tyrone Taylor homered to lead off the fifth inning and tie the score 1-1. Surely that was the spark we were waiting for, right?

Taylor’s home run was less of a spark and more of an aberration, as the Mets would not score again for the rest of the day, including all nine innings of the second game. After Colorado took the lead in the sixth thanks to an Edouard Julien leadoff double and Vientos throwing the ball into Mickey Moniak’s back on a potential double play ball (double plays only work out when the Mets hit into them), New York tried to rally in the eighth against Hill with Alvarez, Bichette, and Juan Soto all reaching base with one out. Once again, there was a big opportunity in the eighth inning to flip the miserable script, but once again, the Mets chose misery with Luis Robert Jr. flying out into foul territory and Vientos flailing away at an outside-corner slider for his second strikeout of the day.

GET OUT THE PURPLE COAT FOR HUNTER GOODMAN pic.twitter.com/iFoMVcTCY2

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 26, 2026

The second game of the day didn’t go any better for the Mets. In fact, it went worse because this time New York put zero runs on the board. We found out quickly that zero wouldn’t not be enough because Kodai Senga continued to be a disaster on the mound. After a decent start to the campaign, Senga has now made three straight starts without competing the fourth inning. In this one, he allowed three hits, three walks, and a hit-by-pitch in the first three innings, and that includes a perfect first inning. Hunter Goodman’s two-run bomb in the third gave Colorado more than enough runs to win the game.

Welcome to the 7 (strikeout) Train

Dollander continues to dominate 💪 pic.twitter.com/Rupt1vJdup

— Colorado Rockies (@Rockies) April 26, 2026

Meanwhile, the Mets were shut down by Chase Dollander, the right-handed pitcher who was chosen by the Rockies in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft. Dollander had never completed seven innings before in 21 major league starts, but he did just that against the Mets while allowing just five hits and two walks. The Mets had their best chance to break through in the fifth when Carson Benge and Mauricio both singled with nobody out, but Mauricio was easily doubled off first when Taylor hit a soft line drive to TJ Rumfield.

The Mets are now 9-19 and getting ready to start a series against the 13-16 Washington Nationals. Already two MLB teams have fired their managers, but the Mets are not one of them. Boston and Philadelphia are off to similar slow and very disappointing starts. As a result, both Alex Cora and Rob Thomson have lost their jobs even though Cora has won a World Series with the Red Sox and Thomson led his team to the NL pennant just four years ago. What has Mendoza won to earn such a long leash from the Mets? 2024 was a thrilling season, but Buck Showalter was let go just one year after leading the Mets to 101 wins and a Postseason berth. Mendoza has already been allowed to oversee the 2025 meltdown. Will he really be allowed to continue at the helm if the Mets continue to bust in 2026?

There’s also the matter of David Stearns, the president of baseball operations who was supposed to be the architect of the Mets’ resurgence, whiffing on every move he made this offseason. After a hot start, Robert Jr. has looked like the broken slugger that the White Sox traded away for the low, low price of Luisangel Acuna. However, Robert Jr. is still hitting better than Bo Bichette, who was brought in to easy the pain of Pete Alonso’s departure. Like Alonso last year, Bichette is on an opt-out deal that will allow him to bolt from the Mets the minute he finds some success.

Marcus Semien had a lot of success in Texas, but his offense dropped off the last two seasons, and this April he’s hitting even worse than he did then. Semien was brought in to form a great middle-infield defensive combination with Francisco Lindor, but their glovework hasn’t been good enough to make up for the abysmal offense. The worst acquisition has been Devin Williams, who has been a total gas can as the closer and has made me miss Edwin Diaz even though I thought I never would.

Some people have said that firing Mendoza or Stearns right now won’t do anything to help the Mets win more games. That might be true, but something has to be done to show the fans that the team’s performance in April is unacceptable. Maybe Steven Cohen is willing to ride out the season and give the team a chance to turn it around, but I have a feeling that the owner will be compelled to do something if attendance dwindles over the summer.

One game might not be enough to save Mendoza or Stearns from being fired at season’s end, but it would still be cool if the Mets stopped being the worst team in baseball. They can take a step tonight by beating the Nationals. Washington’s starting pitcher Zack Littell has allowed 14 combined runs over his last two starts against San Francisco and Atlanta. He’s someone that even a feeble offense can take advantage of. The Mets will be sending Clay Holmes and his 2.10 ERA to the bump. He has allowed fewer than three runs in all five starts this season.

The Mets appeared to be on their way to ending their 11-game losing streak in the series opener vs. Minnesota on Tuesday night. Nolan McLean was dominant and retired the first 15 batters that he faced while Francisco Lindor came up big with a three-run blast to right field that ended up being the only significant offense from the Mets all night. Still, it looked like it would be enough until Byron Buxton took McLean deep over the left field wall just three batters after Matt Wallner became the first Twins batter to reach base with a single to open the sixth inning.

Buck gets us on the board! pic.twitter.com/R584and5SS

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 22, 2026

The two-run home run brought Minnesota within one and put some pressure on New York’s offense to add some runs. Instead, the Mets made 12 straight outs against the Twins’ beleaguered bullpen. While the Mets flailed about, Minnesota broke through against McLean again with Kody Clemens hitting a double with one out in the seventh and Luke Keaschall following up with an RBI single to tie the game. Huascar Brazoban kept the score steady until the ninth, which set the stage for Devin Williams to blow a game for the second time in a row.

Williams started by walking Josh Bell on four pitches and then gave Ryan Jeffers a free pass as well. Clemens bunted to the first base side, but the Mets failed to record an out when pinch runner Josh Outman beat Mark Vientos’ throw to third base. With the bases loaded and nobody out Keaschall hits a ground ball to the left side that bounced past New York’s drawn-in infield. What looked like it could yield an out at home plate turned into an RBI single. Not content to let his defense shoulder some of the blame, Williams then walked Wallner to make the score 5-3 Minnesota.

KEASCH. KLUTCH. pic.twitter.com/U0xxrIZ48B

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) April 22, 2026

Austin Warren did an amazing job striking out the side to prevent further damage, but it didn’t matter much since the Mets were lifeless in their half of the ninth. I’m all for Warren or Brazoban getting the next save opportunity since it would show the clubhouse that performance matters, but I don’t expect Carlos Mendoza to rock the boat so much despite a disastrous start to the season.

The Mets are back at it tonight with Juan Soto in the lineup against a southpaw making his MLB debut. Surely, now is when the Mets take a break from losing, right?

The Mets got the offense revved up in the second inning on Friday afternoon in Chicago, but it didn’t matter very much since Kodai Senga was a flaming tire fire for the second time in a row. The Japanese right-hander was one strike away from escaping a jam in the bottom of the first, but then Seiya Suzuki dropped an RBI single into right field and Cubs phenom Moises Ballesteros followed up with a three-run opposite taco. The Mets, who have had trouble scoring more than two runs in a game during this long losing streak were down 4-0 out of the gate.

MOISÉS BALLESTEROS FOR THREE pic.twitter.com/S8Y4ef0k99

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 17, 2026

Even before I could say “it’s over,” the Mets surprisingly battled back against Chicago starter Edward Cabrera. MJ Melendez continued his hot hitting with a scorching line drive single to put two runners on base for Marcus Semien, who ripped a double into the gap to get the Mets on the board. After Brett Baty continued his monster slump with a strikeout, Tyrone Taylor ripped a line drive off the left-center field wall for what could have been a two-RBI double. However, Taylor had to settle for a single since he was thrown out by former Mets draft pick Pete Crow-Armstrong. On instant replay it looked like Taylor might have avoided the tag by Nico Hoerner, but Carlos Mendoza chose not to challenge the play and the rally fizzled out on Caron Benge’s fly out with the New York still down a run.

TT drives in ✌️ pic.twitter.com/MTVKbsMwee

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 17, 2026

The momentum didn’t last long, as Senga gave up a two-run blast to Hoerner in the bottom of the inning to make the score 6-3. The Mets wouldn’t score again until the game was well out of hand in eighth inning. The game almost got interesting when the first three New York batters reached base, but then Melendez struck out and Mark Vientos grounded into a double play to doom the Mets to a 12-4 blowout loss.

For the second straight week, a decent offensive showing from the Mets was spoiled by a Senga disaster start. It’s time to consider a change to the rotation, especially with Christian Scott heating up at Triple-A. The lineup could also use a lot of work, but the most pressing concern is Brett Baty, who has 21 strikeouts and zero walks so far, resulting in a .190 on-base percentage. He also is a man without a position since Bo Bichette signed on to play third base. Baty has tried to fit at first base and right field, but he cost the Mets a run with an error on Friday and could be due for a demotion when Juan Soto or Jared Young returns from the injured list.

If the Mets continue floundering into oblivion, at least we’ll have the NBA Playoffs and the Stanley Cup Playoffs to distract us starting this afternoon. The Knicks losing in the first round would be a bigger mess than the baseball season, so hopefully that doesn’t happen. This was supposed to be the Knicks’ year with Jayson Tatum missing most of the season due to his Achilles injury, but now Tatum is back and the Celtics will be favored to beat New York in the Eastern Conference Semifinals if we get that far. The expectation is for the Knicks to finally reach the NBA Finals, but it would be surprising if they got back to the Conference Finals.

There is also WrestleMania this weekend, which means maybe just maybe we’ll get to see Roman Reigns beat up the insufferable CM Punk and return to his role as the Head of the Table at WWE. Also, can Gunther finally get a big win at WrestleMania after being “upset” by Sami Zayn and Jey Uso in the last two years? Speaking of Zayn, I’m looking forward to seeing if he fully commits to his new heel bit and beats Trick Williams or if Williams continues on his rocket ship ride to the top of the company. Another recent NXT call-up who is super hot right now is Oba Femi. If he beats Brock Lesnar on Sunday, Femi could take Lesnar’s place as one of the most intimidating forces in the wrestling world. There’s so much to look forward to!

The very evil and very nice future WWE Hall of Famer Danhausen agreed to uncurse the Mets on Wednesday morning, but New York continued to stumble that night in an 8-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers that completed a three-game sweep. The Mets have now lost eight games in a row and sit in last place in the National League East. Maybe the loss was due to Danhausen’s face not yet appearing on a WWE equipment truck, or maybe the Mets were never cursed and have just been a terrible franchise for the past 40 years. I don’t want to contemplate that second scenario, but after this latest result, it has to be brought into consideration.

Hyeseong starts the game with a BANG! pic.twitter.com/F4xkYqmPNL

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 16, 2026

Clay Holmes kept the Mets in the game with his third straight solid outing, but hope remained bleak due to the offense’s continued ineptness against Dodgers starter Shohei Ohtani. It looked like Los Angeles might have enough runs to win the game when Hyeseong Kim delivered a two-run home run to the right field seats in the second inning.

The Dodgers ended up needing a little bit more than those two runs, but that was only because of a garbage-time run in the ninth inning driven in by Marcus Semien. New York’s other run came in the fifth inning during a stretch that should have allowed the Mets to take control of the game. Ohtani had trouble finding the strike zone during that frame, starting with a walk to Francisco Alvarez. Carson Benge followed with a solid line drive to left field that appeared to land in front of Teoscar Hernandez for a base hit. Unfortunately, Alvarez thought otherwise and headed back to first base instead of advancing to second. This resulted in an easy force out at second base instead of two runners on and nobody out.

MJ comes through! 👏 pic.twitter.com/tFDeiaaQTO

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 16, 2026

Even after the baserunning blunder, the Mets continued to rally with Semien drawing a walk and MJ Melendez, who was just called up that day to replace an injured Jared Young in the lineup, bouncing his second double of the game into the right field seats. The clutch hit could have tied the game if only Alvarez hadn’t ran himself into an out, but it still scored one run and there was still a chance for more. The Mets did not score more, though, because Tommy Pham struck out with two runners in scoring position and then Francisco Lindor lined out to end the threat.

That was the closest the Mets would get to contending in this game. In the sixth inning, Ohtani recovered to strike out the side and Teoscar Hernandez hit a solo shot off of Tobias Myers to put Los Angeles ahead by two again.

Another mistake from Francisco Lindor, whose decision not to charge this ball allowed Teoscar Hernandez to hustle down the line with an infield hit. The Dodgers are now rallying in the eighth. pic.twitter.com/zWW6ZccN9q

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) April 16, 2026

Hernandez was back at the plate in the eighth to open up the floodgates. The rally started with an innocent ground ball to shortstop, but instead of charging the ball, Lindor backed up on it, and his throw to first was not in time to get Hernandez out. After a walk by Max Muncy and a very long single by Andy Pages, Dalton Rushing drove a Devin Williams hanging changeup over the center field fence for a grand slam and a 7-1 lead.

FIRST CAREER GRAND SLAM FOR DALTON RUSHING! pic.twitter.com/N72dk4GzAq

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 16, 2026

The Mets have a day off on Thursday before starting a three-game series at the Cubs on Friday. It will be nice to have three straight day games after three straight late-night games to start the road trip. Chicago is off to a 9-9 start, but the team appears to be rounding into form with two straight blowout wins over Philadelphia.

The young New York Mets 2026 campaign took a turn for the worse after the team defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 4-3 to improve to 7-4 last week. Since then, the Mets have lost seven straight games, and in only two of those games have they scored more than one run. Tuesday night against the Dodgers was a great opportunity to score more than a run because Francisco Lindor led off with a solo home run off of Los Angeles ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto to finally find his first RBI of the season. This could have been the night that the Mets’ offense exploded and snapped the losing skid, but instead Yamamoto settled in and retired the next 20 New York batters in a row before Bo Bichette hit a double with two outs in the seventh inning. With the scored tied 1-1, the Mets had a chance to take a rare lead, but Brett Baty struck out to end the frame.

LAUNCHED!@Lindor12BC | #LGM pic.twitter.com/1mFb1IltM4

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2026

The Mets were still in the game until late because Nolan McLean proved to be just as brilliant as Yamamoto. He allowed a run in the first when Will Smith hit a double that led to Kyle Tucker scoring on Freddie Freeman’s ground out, but after that McLean was lights out. The most encouraging part was how he stayed in control even when facing the powerful Dodgers lineup for a third time. He even struck out the side in the seventh inning before leaving the game with 95 pitches thrown.

Filth pic.twitter.com/MLzLaGHspC

— New York Mets (@Mets) April 15, 2026

The eighth inning provide another opportunity for the Mets when Carson Benge and Lindor both singled with two outs to finally get Yamamoto out of the game. However, Blake Treinen struck out Luis Robert Jr. to end the threat and the Dodgers pushed a run across in the bottom half thanks to Miguel Rojas’ leadoff walk and Tucker’s bloop single off of Brooks Raley.

Kyle in the clutch! pic.twitter.com/t7zmleECQ6

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) April 15, 2026

Even with Edwin Diaz out of commission due to a decrease in velocity, the Dodgers had no trouble shutting down the Mets in the ninth, as Alex Vesia struck out the side on just 10 pitches. Almost immaculate!

Juan Soto is still on the shelf for a little while, so it’s hard to foresee an end to the batting struggles, but maybe a supernatural force can step in and lift the Mets out of their long slump.

WWE Superstar Danhausen has officially uncursed the Mets

(h/t @bfg728) pic.twitter.com/y4XgYeaxBd

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) April 15, 2026

Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz appears to have the connections necessary to make this deal happen with Danhausen. As soon as we see his ghoulish face on a production truck, there’s a chance the Mets never lose again.

Wisconsin avoided a letdown game following its shocking upset at Michigan when John Blackwell crushed a triple at the buzzer to give the Badgers a 78-75 victory at Minnesota on Tuesday night. The Gophers led 41-30 over their rivals with 18 minutes left thanks to Jaylen Crocker-Johnson hitting a floater plus the foul, but Blackwell answered with a pair of three-point shots to lead Wisconsin on the comeback trail. The Badgers would lead by as many as nine thanks to former Gopher Braeden Carrington knocking down seven triples of his own for a season-high 21 points, but Minnesota refused to go away. Nolan Winter’s missed free throw with 12 seconds left gave Cade Tyson the opportunity to tie the game at 75-75 with five seconds to play, but Blackwell struck right back with his clutch winner.

WISCONSIN WINS AT THE BUZZER IN AN UNREAL FINISH 😱 pic.twitter.com/LqqiJEFDOt

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) January 14, 2026

Blackwell led everyone in scoring with 27 points and added five assists as well. Minnesota had four players in double figures led by Crocker-Johnson with 20 points while Langston Reynolds scored 12 points with 10 of the Gophers’ 20 assists.

Talk about two teams going in different directions. Nebraska wrecked Oregon 90-55 to keep the Cornhuskers undefeated at 6-0 in the Big Ten and 17-0 overall. It’s the biggest blowout Nebraska has ever had over a Big Ten opponent in conference play. This is also the best start to Big Ten play that Nebraska has had since joining the conference for the 2011-12 season. Meanwhile, the Ducks are 1-5 in the Big Ten haven’t started this poorly in league play since they went 1-5 to begin the Pac-12 campaign of 2013-14.

Braden Frager goes back-to-back from deep 🔥 @HuskerMBB

📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/JHURPL5b1S

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 14, 2026

The game didn’t start so lopsided. Oregon center Nate Bittle made a layup to tie the score at 28-28 with four minutes left in the first half, but then Oregon rolled off a 14-2 run to gain a 42-30 lead at halftime. The burst was spearheaded by Pryce Sandfort and Braden Frager each making two three-point shots, and they would end up torching the nets by each going 7-for-11 from beyond the arc during the game. That accounted for 14 of Nebraska’s 17 three-point shots. On the other side, Oregon made just six shots from beyond the arc while shooting 26 percent from there.

If it wasn’t clear enough from the Michigan State and Indiana results from earlier this month, the Huskers are for real. Rienk Mast has developed into an all-conference player, Sam Hoiberg is a steady hand at point guard, and the Sandfort-Frager combo is lighting up scoreboards. Plus, Nebraska’s defense ranks even higher than its offense on KenPom!

Two traditional Big Ten powers battled in East Lansing, but the hotly contested game turned into an 81-60 Michigan State blowout thanks to Indiana going seven minutes without scoring down the stretch. With just over 11 minutes to play, Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson dunked to tie the score at 53-53, but Jordan Scott came back with a mid-range jump shot for Sparty to spark a 7-0 run over the next minute that was punctuated by a breakaway slam from Coen Carr. Hoosiers head coach Darian DeVries called a timeout, but it did nothing to get his team back into the game, as MSU rolled off 12 more unanswered points to make the score 72-53 with five minutes left.

Another game, another Coen Carr slam 😌 @MSU_Basketball

📺: Peacock pic.twitter.com/tYpx0XKZuU

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) January 14, 2026

Jeremy Fears Jr. was fantastic for Sparty with 23 points and 10 assists while Jaxon Kohler also had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Wilkerson scored 19 points for Indiana, but no other Hoosiers scored more than nine points, as Tucker DeVries was held to that many on 3-for-10 field goals.

In the night cap, Maryland continued to slump in the first year of Buzz Williams’ leadership, falling at USC 88-71 and dropping to 0-6 in league play. Trojans star Chad Baker-Mazara was limited to seven points in nine minutes due to injury, but Jordan Marsh came through with 20 points off the bench. The gigantic center Gabe Dynes played a larger than usual role for USC with 10 points and eight rebounds. Four of those rebounds came on offense, which contributed to USC’s 13-4 edge on the offensive glass. That led to the Trojans firing off 66 shots in this game compared to just 48 for Maryland. All of those extra shots helped USC overcome a 30-point game from Terps guard David Coit.

Big Gabe 💪

📺 FS1 pic.twitter.com/X7Ok4Rez7D

— USC Men's Basketball (@USC_Hoops) January 14, 2026

Just like with Indiana and Michigan State, this one was close for most of the game, but USC outscored Maryland 25-12 over the last 11 minutes following a three-point shot by Coit that trimmed the Trojans’ lead to 63-59. Jade Brownell made a layup and a triple on consecutive possessions for USC to push the lead to 11 points with six and a half minutes left. Coit tried to stop the run with a layup, but then Marsh and Jacob Cofie hit back-to-back jumpers to put the game away.

There are four more Big Ten games tonight with both Northwestern and my Nittany Lions looking for their first conference wins of the season. Penn State has had a brutal schedule to start league play, so hopefully it can finally pull of a win over UCLA. The Wildcats are coming home to face in-state rival Illinois after losing at Rutgers in overtime. We also have Iowa visiting the Purdue juggernaut and Michigan traveling to Washington for late night hoops.

I was terrible last week, but so was everyone else except Abe, who tightened his stranglehold on the ChabDog picks contest by being sharp when everyone else was being square. Abe had New England when the rest of us had Tampa and New Orleans when the rest of us had Carolina. The only good pick I made was Houston, and that was still a loser after the Texans’ miracle comeback! It took a fluke touchdown at the end to get Houston to cover the spread. At least I finished strong with big wins by the Chargers and Eagles.

Abe might be too far gone at this point, but I can still catch the Tank with a solid Week 11.

Jets +11.5 at Patriots

Jets have won two in a row and the Patriots are wearing ugly uniforms.

Commanders +2.5 at Dolphins

This is such a recency bias spread. Marcus Mariota has played well for Washington with Jayden Daniels out.

Panthers at Falcons -3.5

I should pick Carolina since it was such a letdown last week, but I’m back on the Falcons after they blew the cover and the game in European overtime.

Buccaneers at Bills -5.5

Last week was a fluke for Buffalo. The Bills will bounce back at home against a team from Florida.

Texans -7.5 at Titans

Another favorite that I’m nervous about. Houston crushed Tennessee in their first meeting 26-0.

Bears at Vikings -3.5

Chicago only covered last week because Jaxson Dart got hurt. The squares will say the wrong team is favored.

Packers at Giants +7.5

This has Jameis Winston backdoor cover written all over it.

Bengals +4.5 at Steelers

There’s just something about Joe Flacco! Cincinnati can’t stop a nose bleed, but it’s still hard to bet against.

Chargers -2.5 at Jaguars

I’m going chalk here because of all the fantasy interest I have with the Bolts this week.

Seahawks at Rams -2.5

Chalk again. Rams being favored by less than three at home is disrespectful.

49ers at Cardinals +2.5

Despite getting their doors blown off in Seattle, Arizona has been more consistent than San Francisco lately.

Ravens at Browns +7.5

This game will either go like Bills vs. Dolphins and Saints vs. Panthers last week or like Lions vs. Commanders and Cardinals vs. Seahawks. That’s why picking is hard.

Chiefs -3.5 at Broncos

Major fraud test for the Broncos. I say they fail.

Lions +1.5 at Eagles

Detroit bounced back well last week. Now it is time to assert dominance over the NFC.

Cowboys at Raiders +3.5

Dallas desperately needs this game to justify the Quinnen Williams trade. Raiders have been plucky, though.

Oba Femi is back! The Ruler of NXT had been absent from the wrestling universe since dropping the NXT Championship to Ricky Saints at No Mercy in late September, but he returned to the scene on Tuesday night right after Saints barley survived his bloody Last Man Standing title match against Trick Williams. Williams did everything he could to keep Saints down for a 10 count, including hitting a Trick Shot knee strike, blasting him with the steel ring stairs, burying him under those stairs, and throwing him through a wall, but Saints got up and kept fighting. Williams then brought Saints into the crowd and hit another Trick Shot, but Saints answered by spearing Williams out of the stands and through the announce table below. The epic blow was barely enough to keep Williams down and keep the NXT Championship around Saints’ waist… for now.

Cinema. pic.twitter.com/q2Qxil8WuI

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) November 12, 2025

As soon as the match ended, Femi emerged on the entrance ramp to stake his claim to a rematch. With no NXT Championship match on the upcoming Gold Rush card (November 18 and 25 at Madison Square Garden), I’m thinking that Femi will get his shot at becoming a two-time NXT Champion at Deadline on December 6 in San Antonio.

One rematch that is happening at Gold Rush is Tatum Paxley vs. Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship. Paxley opened the Tuesday show by granting a rematch to Jayne despite Paxley’s friend Izzi Dame wanting her to be more selective when handing out title shots. If Paxley wins at Gold Rush, it could make the champion more confident in doing things her way instead of listening to Dame. If she loses, Dame can say “I told you so” and continue having Paxley do the bidding of The Culling. That’s why I’m predicting that Dame costs Paxley the title next week. Remember, at Halloween Havoc, it looked like Dame was trying to sabotage Paxley when Dame ran into the ring with the title.

We also set up an NXT Tag Team Championship match on Tuesday with Je’Von Evans and Leon Slater announcing that they’ll challenge DarkState at Gold Rush. Slater appeared to be in a remote location during the announcement, but when DarkState attacked Evans, he ran out from backstage and helped the Bouncy Boy fight off the fearsome foursome. Evans and Slater are a hot team right now, so I could see this going either way. I will give the edge to DarkState since I think Evans is close to breaking out on the main roster. Look for DarkState to interfere with Evans’ match against Gunther on Monday Night Raw the night before Gold Rush.

This is CHAOS!!!@theahail_wwe and @wwe_alba are giving us a good one! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/57mSGcyaAo

— WWE (@WWE) November 12, 2025

The Triple-A Mixed Tag Team Championship is also set to be defended during Week 1 of Gold Rush, and we got a little preview on Tuesday when Thea Hail defeated Secret Hervice member Alba Fyre in a singles match while fighting off interference from Ethan Page and Chelsea Green. Everyone loves Hail and Joe Hendry, but they don’t have the chemistry together than Green and Page do. That’s why I expect the defending champs to win next week. I would rather Hail lose and go on to pursue the NXT Women’s Championship or the Women’s North American Championship than continue teaming with Hendry and living in his shadow.

One more match on the Gold Rush card is Blake Monroe vs. Sol Ruca for the NXT Women’s North American Championship. I feel very good about Monroe winning so that the wedge between Ruca and Zaria is driven deeper. I could see Ruca losing next week and then Zaria winning the Speed Championship during Week 2. That would make Ruca bitter about Zaria only winning when its her title opportunity and not Ruca’s. Remember, Zaria lost the Women’s North American Championship at Halloween Havoc when she stepped in for an injured Ruca.

It wasn’t surprising to see John Cena open up Monday Night Raw last night and hear him hype up his last match ever on December 13. It was a lot more surprising when Dominik Mysterio came out and accidentally got himself booked in a fight for his Intercontinental Championship. Dom busted out all of his tricks in an effort to retain the prestigious title, but Cena ended up defeating him twice. First when Dom tapped out to the STF while the referee was incapacitated and again when Cena rolled through Dom’s Frog Splash and hit the Attitude Adjustment, this time with the referee ready to count to three.

Just one month before his retirement from WWE, Cena has shockingly won his first Intercontinental Championship, which raises the question, will Cena’s final match be a loss for the legendary wrestler? It seems likely now that the anticipated match on December 13 will be for the Intercontinental Championship unless Cena drops the title as suddenly as he won it. Heel Cena had previously talked about going home with the Undisputed WWE Championship and ruining wrestling, but this current version seems content to let the legacy of his current title continue past 2025. Unless Cena is taking the Intercontinental Championship with him into retirement, he is probably losing in his final match, and that only builds the intrigue over who the opponent will be.

We got two more possibilities announced by Adam Pearce on Monday night. The Raw general manager said that Je’Von Evans will face Gunther in The Last Time is Now Tournament next week. Solo Sikoa will also be in tournament action against a mystery opponent. That leaves us with a second mystery entrant with the first set to be revealed on SmackDown as LA Knight’s tournament opponent. Joe Hendry has been speculated as a mystery spot, but I would be surprised if it was him because he doesn’t have a connection to Cena. Oba Femi makes more sense to me because he is larger than life and is someone that fans including myself would love to see fight Cena before he rides off into the sunset. I will currently project Hendry to face Sikoa and Femi to face Knight, but the possibilities are endless. Chris Jericho making a return to WWE would be electric and Trick Williams seems overdue to break out on the main roster.

Next week, the tournament continues.@WWE pic.twitter.com/lwYpsGM495

— Adam Pearce (@ScrapDaddyAP) November 11, 2025

Right now my two favorites to defeat Cena in his final match at The Miz and Gunther. It would probably take some shenanigans to get The Miz past Jey Uso in the first round of The Last Time is Now Tournament, but he just cut a killer promo on Friday and he has history with both Cena and the Intercontinental Championship. Gunther has never faced Cena, but he’s someone who would certainly have had an epic feud with Cena if he had come around a decade earlier. With Seth Rollins out of action, Gunther is returning to the spotlight as WWE’s most dominant heel. He has almost always had a title around his waist since being promoted to the main roster, so it would make sense for him to take the IC Championship back after his glorious run with it two years ago.

Both Rusev and Sheamus won their matches in The Last Time is Now Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals. Both wins were easy to predict since both guys have history with Cena. Sheamus’ case for winning the tournament is interesting because he has never won the IC Championship and December 13 is the anniversary of Sheamus defeating Cena for the WWE Championship many years ago. Rusev has beef with Cena because when Cena beat him for the United States Championship at WrestleMania 31, the Bulgarian Brute’s career was never the same. I like the promo that Rusev cut this week, but I give Sheamus the edge to advance farther in the tournament.

Getting back to that Dom vs. Cena match on Raw, it is interesting that none of Dom’s Judgement Day family was at ringside to help him out, especially since so many of his title defenses have been team efforts. Is this signaling a split between Dom and The Judgement Day? The legacy superstar is already being treated like a babyface by the crowd, and he’s been one of the hottest heels in the company since he betrayed his father three years ago. Pulling the trigger on a babyface turn for Dom would likely ignite a massive run for him with limitless possibilities including a reunion with Rey Mysterio and an underdog run at a major championship. It’s all potential energy right now and the only question for WWE creative is when to push that button.

"Lonely" Dominik Mysterio 👀 pic.twitter.com/uHm0JVWqS4

— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025

The other big thing to happen on Raw was the formation of teams for WarGames. On the men’s side, CM Punk called out Logan Paul after Paul sucker punched him with brass knuckles last week. That led to Paul coming to the ring with Bron Breakker and Bronson Reed, which in turn led to Punk fighting them off with the help of Jey Uso and Cody Rhodes. Later in the evening, William Regal showed up out of nowhere to officially announce “WarGames!”

We are still at only three men aside, though. It would be surprising if Roman Reigns didn’t join the babyface side. He’s got a strong bond with Jey and both he and Punk share a disdain for Paul Heyman, the man managing Breakker and Reed. With Reigns in the mix, you might as well throw in Jimmy Uso as well to get the babyfaces to five men. I suppose Sami Zayn is also a possibility if he is medically cleared with the history he shares with Reigns and Uso.

PREPARE FOR WAR. 👀

IT'S TIME FOR WARGAMES!!! pic.twitter.com/GN32iss2JS

— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025

As for the heels, Drew McIntyre is suspended, so he probably won’t get announced until close to Survivor Series, but he makes too much sense since he doubled down on his feud with Rhodes by Claymore Kicking a referee last Friday. Gunther is also a possibility based on him disappearing since losing the World Heavyweight Championship to Punk at SummerSlam. Kevin Owens has been on the shelf even longer than Gunther and has a score to settle with Rhodes, but I’m not sure how close he is to returning to action. Owens would also make sense as one of the mystery combatants in The Last Time is Now Tournament since he had a major feud with Cena as soon as he came up on the main roster.

The ladies also got into the WarGames spirit when the new team of Nia Jax and Lash Legend showed up to screw over Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss during their Women’s Tag Team Championship match against the Kabuki Warriors. Bliss had done a great job intercepting Kairi Sane with Sister Abigail to stop the Pirate Princess from breaking up Flair’s Figure Four leglock, but Jax and Legend interfered with the submission while the referee wasn’t looking. That led to Sane throwing Bliss over the announce table and then hitting the Insane Elbow on Flair for the pin to crown new champs.

NEW WOMEN'S TAG TEAM CHAMPS!

RHEA RIPLEY IS BACK!

WOMEN'S WARGAMES MATCH IS ON!

WHAT A CHAOTIC ENDING TO RAW! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/S27ZMgbw6D

— WWE (@WWE) November 11, 2025

Bliss tried to pick a fight with Jax and Legend after the match and it predictably wasn’t going well until Iyo Sky and Rhea Ripley showed up to clear the ring of the heels. Ripley shouted “WarGames!” at the baddies and all of a sudden we had four women on each team. I’m thinking that the final two spots will go to Jade Cargill and either Tiffany Stratton or Bianca Belair depending on who is available. Cargill doesn’t have a challenger for her new WWE Women’s Championship yet because all she did on Friday was say “I’m that bitch” and walk out of the ring. However, she didn’t make it far before bumping into Flair, which foreshadowed beef between the two powerhouses. Both Stratton and Belair have history with Cargill with Stratton just dropping the title to her and Belair teaming up with her before missing time due to injury.

If Stratton and Belair both aren’t cleared, I can see Bayley jumping on on the babyface side due to her history with Damage Ctrl. Nikki Bella and Stephanie Vaquer would make great candidates for WarGames as well, but they appear locked in their own feud after Bella smashed Vaquer with the title following the latter defeating Raquel Rodriguez to defend the Women’s World Championship last night.

Straight from Ava’s office…

Think of @WWE Last Man Standing matches from the past and understand that ya don’t wanna miss tonight!!!@TheCW_Sports pic.twitter.com/UZzA4ZKseM

— Robert Stone (@MrStoneWWE) November 11, 2025

Tonight on NXT, my hero El Grande Americano defends the Speed Championship against Jasper Troy and Ricky Saints faces Trick Williams in what is sure to be an epic Last Man Standing Match for the NXT Championship. Should be a great show.

The Giants announced today that they have parted ways with head coach Brian Daboll. General manager Joe Schoen, who joined the franchise in 2022 right before he hired Daboll, still has a job for now despite two of his six first-round NFL Draft selections being massive busts (Evan Neal and Deonte Banks). To be fair to Daboll and Schoen, the two players they chose in the first round of the 2025 Draft have the potential to be future franchise cornerstones with Jaxson Dart and Abdul Carter both in consideration for Rookie of the Year awards. To also be fair, the rosters produced by Daboll and Schoen have started 2-8 for three straight seasons following the 2022 playoff season.

Brian Daboll has been relieved of his duties; Mike Kafka will serve as interim head coach.

📰: https://t.co/IH63AEqwwl pic.twitter.com/quKIBitNc7

— New York Giants (@Giants) November 10, 2025

Daboll and Schoen both came from Buffalo together in 2022, so in my opinion, they just both leave together. So why was Daboll shown the door before Schoen? Probably because of the Giants losing four games this season in which they held a lead of 10 points or more. In the games at Dallas and Denver, New York scored to take the lead with mere seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. In the game at New Orleans, the Giants turned the ball over on five straight possessions after jumping out to an early 14-3 lead. In the most recent collapse at Chicago, the Giants led by 10 in the fourth quarter before falling apart on both sides of the ball.

If you reverse those results, the Giants are in position to make the playoffs and Daboll might be in line to win Coach of the Year like he did in 2022. Instead, the season has been torturous. Big Blue has shown the potential to be a solid team when it defeated the Chargers and Eagles. In the seven quarters spanning the win over Philadelphia and the start of the Denver game, the Giants looked like a legitimate playoff contender, but instead of closing out the Broncos, New York wilted like it has too often this season. Daboll couldn’t get the Giants across the finish line.

Daboll has also been reckless with Dart. The rookie quarterback has been evaluated for a concussion four times this season, and he was confirmed to have suffered a concussion on Sunday. The injury may have cost the Giants the game based on how ineffective Russell Wilson was in relief. Dart isn’t doing enough to protect himself when he runs, even after he has gained enough yards for a first down. Hopefully interim head coach Mike Kafka will move Jameis Winston ahead on the depth chart so that we don’t have to watch Wilson again this season. It’s a big decision because Dart will probably miss at least one game due to the concussion.

Whoever is the next head coach of the Giants will have big expectations out of the gate. The offense in 2026 will be talented with Dart, Cam Skattebo, and Malik Nabers on the roster. Plus, the Giants will probably have an opportunity to grab a great talent with their first round pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The next three opponents this season are Green Bay, Detroit, and New England, so it might be a while until New York improves on its 2-8 record.

Guess who is the Week 9 picks champion at ChabDog? That’s right. It is me, and I did it without hitting on any island picks. The keys to victory were the Falcons, Panthers, Steelers, Raiders, and Bills. On those five picks, I was in the minority with only one other person making the correct selection. On four of those five, it was me and Frank the Tank riding together. We didn’t plan it like that! I was just in a Tank state of mind.

The victorious week put me one game above .500 for the season and just two games behind Frank for second place. Can I stay hot in Week 10?

Raiders +9.5 at Broncos

The Las Vegas offense came alive last week with the return of Brock Bowers. Going up against Denver’s defense will be a tougher test, but I’m thinking Bowers will create enough opportunities to keep the Raiders in the game. The Broncos have won six straight, but four of the six wins are by less than a touchdown.

Falcons +5.5 at Colts

Finally we saw some of the real Daniel Jones last week, as he threw three interceptions and lost two fumbles in a loss at Pittsburgh. Indianapolis probably won’t turn the ball over six times for a second straight week, but I think Atlanta has the weapons to keep this close.

Giants +3.5 at Bears

I expect Caleb Williams to tear up the Giants’ depleted secondary like Mac Jones did last week. Hopefully Jaxson Dart can be heroic and provide an answer to every Chicago touchdown.

Bills -8.5 at Dolphins

Buffalo is back in juggernaut mode since the bye week. The defense did a great job last week hanging on when I thought the Bills would blow it against Kansas City.

Ravens at Vikings +4.5

Baltimore seems to have righted the ship with two blowout wins in a row, but the Vikings just scored a huge upset win at Detroit in J.J. McCarthy’s return to action. I am a sucker for this kid and his grit.

Browns at Jets -2.5

The Jets trading away Sauce Gardner after signing him to a massive contract is a gut punch that even the most pessimistic Jets fans did not see coming. I think the team rallies together and beats the Browns, though.

Patriots at Buccaneers -2.5

This should be a terrific game. I think Tampa Bay superior playmakers (even with Mike Evans out and possibly Chris Godwin as well) make the difference.

Saints at Panthers -5.5

New Orleans is not a spunky underdog anymore with Tyler Shough under center, and Alvin Kamara looks washed.

Jaguars at Texans -1.5

C.J. Stroud is out and Houston just lost a tough one against Denver, but I believe in this Texans defense.

Cardinals +6.5 at Seahawks

Arizona has covered the spread in all three of Jacoby Brissett’s starts, and the defense came alive last week in Dallas.

Rams -3.5 at 49ers

Mac Jones has played well for San Francisco, including a month ago in a big upset over these Rams. Sean McVay and company will not let that happen again. Ram it!

Lions at Commanders +8.5

Marcus Mariota is not a big drop off from Jayden Daniels and my faith in Detroit is shaken after last week’s shocking upset loss.

Steelers at Chargers -3.5

The Bolts were punched in the mouth by Tennessee last week, but they still came back and won comfortably on the road. Yes, the Titans are awful, but that is still a good sign.

Eagles +2.5 at Packers

Philadelphia is a chalky underdog, but you can’t trust Green Bay when it just lost a second game this year as a big favorite.

I got busy over the weekend and didn’t have a chance to talk about the insane ending to the World Series. I really thought the Blue Jays were going to finish the job, but despite all of their money bags, the Dodgers maintain the grit of a desperate underdog looking to defy the odds. That’s how Los Angeles was able to escape the ninth inning of Game 7 after Toronto loaded the bases with one out. Dalton Varsho hit a sharp ground ball to second base that Miguel Rojas, who had just tied the game with an unlikely home run in the top of the inning, had to back up on. It should have been enough to score the run from third, but Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who had just been inserted as a pinch-runner for Bo Bichette, didn’t get a great jump off of third base and was forced out when Rojas threw home to catcher Will Smith.

MIGUEL ROJAS GETS HIM AT THE PLATE pic.twitter.com/lAW2GEcdDh

— MLB (@MLB) November 2, 2025

That is a run that the gritty underdog is supposed to score to get an edge over the powerhouse filled with superstars. Instead, it was Rojas with the nerves of steel and Kiner-Falefa not being desperate enough to score. The mistake of inserting Kiner-Falefa compounded itself for Toronto skipper John Schneider when the infielder came to the plate in the bottom of the 11th. Will Smith had homered for the Dodgers in the top of the frame to put Los Angeles on top, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got the Blue Jays going with a double. With Kiner-Falefa at the plate instead of Bichette, Schneider opted for a bunt to get Guerrero Jr. to third. The play was executed correctly, but it proved to be the wrong strategy as after Addison Barger walked, Yoshinobu Yamamoto got Alejandro Kirk to ground into a season-ending double play.

Poor running of the bases also doomed Toronto in Game 6 when Barger was doubled off second base following Andres Gimenez’s line drive to left field. Barger had just hit a double that somehow got stuck against the center field wall. I thought that Los Angeles outfielder Justin Dean took a huge risk by putting his hands in the air and claiming that the ball was lodged, but fortunately for him, the umpires agreed and forced Barger to stop at second base. If they said that the ball wasn’t lodged, Barger could have run all the way home thanks to Dean not playing the ball.

#Postseason hero Kiké Hernández had one final trick up his sleeve to finish out the month of October 🤯#WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/Vg9xQyZBtP

— MLB (@MLB) November 1, 2025

Anyway, without that lodged ball call, Barger might not have been at second base and he might not have run into a double play on Gimenez’s drive that was caught by Enrique Hernandez. The Blue Jays might have caught a bad break, but they also ran themselves out of the game. There’s also the possibility that Barger would have stopped at second base if the ball had just bounced off the wall, so maybe it’s not too bad of a break.

Despite Shohei Ohtani’s unbelievable Game 3 performance, the World Series MVP went to Yamamoto, and it’s hard to say that he didn’t deserve it. The man pitched a complete game to lead the Dodgers to victory in Game 2 and then pitched six innings with one run allowed in Game 6 to earn a second World Series win. We already knew Yamamoto was built different when he started warming up during the 18th inning of Game 3, but then he proved it by entering Game 7 in the ninth inning and keeping Toronto off the scoreboard until the game was over two and two thirds innings later. Yamamoto was hyped up a lot when he signed a massive deal with the Dodgers before the 2024 campaign, but he has lived up to it and then some with his heroic postseason performances.

We got some bad news on Wednesday night, as the Blue Jays are now one win away from bringing the Commissioner’s Trophy to Canada. They cruised to a 6-1 victory in Game 5 of the World Series after Davis Schneider and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the game. Trey Yesavage took it from there with just four batters reaching base against him (three hits and a hit by pitch) in seven innings. He struck out 12 Dodgers during the incredible performance.

Trey Yesavage is LOCKED in 🔒

He strikes out the side in the 2nd! pic.twitter.com/XcbWPvNq4N

— MLB (@MLB) October 30, 2025

Toronto now has two chances to clinch the championship in its home ballpark. The good news for the Dodgers is that Yoshinobu Yamamoto is slated to start Game 6, and he is coming off of two straight complete games. Kevin Gausman will take the mound for the Blue Jays after being outdueled by Yamamoto in Game 2.

We got a little football action during the World Series’ off day, and I’m happy to say that I started the week 1-0 with my picks, but these standings remained the same because everyone picked Baltimore to crush Miami.

Here are the rest of my Week 9 picks as I try to escape the Isle of Mid.

Ravens -7.5 at Dolphins

Miami surprisingly blew out Atlanta on the road last week, but Baltimore was also impressive. I think Lamar Jackson’s return gets the Ravens the points they need to cover the spread.

Bears -2.5 at Bengals

The Bengals have scored more than 30 points in each of the past two weeks with Joe Flacco under center, but the defense still stinks. I think Caleb Williams has a day.

Vikings at Lions -8.5

Detroit is great at covering big spreads like this one because they can keep scoring even when trying to kill the clock.

Panthers +12.5 at Packers

Last week was a big return to form for Green Bay, but Carolina isn’t a pushover.

Chargers -9.5 at Titans

I’m done picking the Titans to cover anything.

Falcons +5.5 at Patriots

The Falcons are Jekyll and Hyde. I think they play well on the road after everyone wrote them off.

49ers at Giants +2.5

Maybe this isn’t Kyle Shanahan’s masterpiece after all? The win over the Rams is looking like a fluke.

Colts at Steelers +3.5

I am going back to the Pittsburgh home underdog well. Indianapolis has been a juggernaut, but its schedule has been very soft.

Broncos at Texans -1.5

Texans have now won three of four, but they played terribly in the one game of those I watched. That was at Seattle, and Houston has been better at home.

Jaguars at Raiders +3.5

Just when I was starting to believe that the Jaguars weren’t frauds, they go out and lose two in a row.

Chiefs at Bills +1.5

Chiefs have been unstoppable since the Jacksonville loss, but Buffalo appears rejuvenated after the bye week.

Seahawks -3.5 at Commanders

Washington might just be bad.

Cardinals at Cowboys -2.5

Cowboys at home is the easiest pick every time they play at home.

Since the World Series shifted to Los Angeles on Monday night, the Dodgers won a game that will be considered one of the greatest in the history of the Fall Classic. The next day, the Blue Jays won a very boring game by comparison, but they both count the same and we are tied 2-2 heading into a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night.

FREDDIE FREEMAN WALK-OFF HOME RUN IN THE 18TH INNING! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/wD1xbRxDbC

— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025

So how did we get here? It has a lot to do with Shohei Ohtani cementing his legacy as an all-time baseball legend and setting a Postseason record by reaching base nine times during the Game 3 marathon that ended on Freddie Freeman’s walk-off home run off of Brendon Little to lead off the bottom of the 18th. If nine times on base with no outs made wasn’t amazing enough, Ohtani’s first four plate appearances resulted in extra-base hits, and the last two led to the Dodgers coming back and tying the game. His double in the fifth inning drove in Enrique Hernandez to make the score 4-3 before Freeman singled to get Ohtani home with the equalizing run.

SHOHEI OHTANI'S SECOND HOMER OF THE NIGHT

TIE GAME! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/eA6h6saLnV

— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025

Then, after Bo Bichette’s single down the right field line got Vladimir Guerrero all the way from first to home with the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh, Ohtani answered with his second home run of the game to tie the score at 5-5, where it would stay for the next 11 innings. Part of the reason the game stayed tied for so long was that Toronto intentionally walked Ohtani during his next four plate appearances and then walked him conventionally in his final plate appearance to mix things up. That last walk by Little in the 17th inning was so noncompetitive that it looked like an old intentional walk from back when you had to throw the ball to the catcher. The craziest part of the five Ohtani walks was that only one of them came in a typical intentional walk scenario with first base open and a runner on second or third. On the other four occasions, Blue Jays manager John Schneider either put Ohtani on as the winning run or to push the winning run into scoring position. The strategy worked.

We also wouldn’t have made it to the 18th inning without a couple of relief pitcher heroes in Eric Lauer for Toronto and Will Klein for Los Angeles. Lauer is a former Padres and Brewers southpaw who split his time between starting and relief pitching this season with the Blue Jays. He threw four and two thirds scoreless innings after entering the game with one out in the 12th. Klein’s four shutout frames were even more surprising because he had never started a game before in his two-year big league career. In his 22 regular season appearances, he never went longer than two innings before, and yet here was Stein taking the Dodgers deep into the night when they didn’t know if they even had another pitcher available.

PAINT

The Dodgers' TENTH pitcher of the night keeps it tied in the 15th! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/ApMh6prBlG

— MLB (@MLB) October 28, 2025

If Little had retired Freeman in the 18th, we might have seen something as incredible as Stein’s great outing. That’s because Yoshinobu Yamamoto was warming up in the bullpen after throwing his second straight complete game of the Postseason just two days before! Just when I thought I would never see a pitcher save his team on short rest again, Yamamoto was willing to come back on one day of rest! It’s kind of a shame that Freeman ended the game when he did, because that would have been something to see. It REALLY would have been a shame if Toronto won, but at least that didn’t happen.

Monday night’s cathartic Game 3 victory made it seem like Los Angeles had all the momentum, especially with Ohtani on the mound to start Game 4. Could he possibly grow his legend even more? It turns out that no, he could not. The Dodgers grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second inning when a Max Muncy walk and a Tommy Edman single led to a sac fly by Hernandez, but Shane Bieber would keep Los Angeles off the scoreboard for the rest of his five and a third innings. Toronto struck back and took the lead in the third when Guerrero Jr. launched a two-run home run off of Ohtani.

VLADDY GETS AHOLD OF ONE! #WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/UIgEgJBUPu

— MLB (@MLB) October 29, 2025

The Dodgers’ best chance to retake the lead came in the sixth when Freeman and Teoscar Hernandez singled to set the table with one out, but Mason Fluharty came on for Bieber and got Max Muncy to fly out before striking out Edman to end the threat. The Blue Jays started the seventh with two straight hits to chase Ohtani and went on to rally for four runs with RBI hits coming from Andres Gimenez, Bichette, and Addison Barger. That was more than enough for Toronto, and it went on to win 6-2.

It feels like we’ve already had enough dramatic events to fill a whole series (probably because the Dodgers and Blue Jays have played five games’ worth of innings in four games), but there are still at least two more games left to play in the 2025 season. I can’t wait to see what happens in Game 5 tonight with Blake Snell on the bump for Los Angeles against Trey Yesavage for Toronto.

Boy, did I have a bad sports day on Sunday. It was bad enough when the Giants got whomped by the Eagles so badly that it made New York’s home win over Philly two weeks ago seem like a total fluke. Then I had to watch the Knicks fall behind the Heat by 18 points in the fourth quarter and tease with a comeback before falling 115-107. The cap off the evening, the Rangers lost a second straight game to one of the worst teams in hockey.

At least the 38-20 defeat suffered by the Giants might have been closer in an alternate universe where the referees called the game fairly. I’m not a big blame-the-refs guy, and the Giants might have lost this game anyway due to some horrendous run defense that allowed Saquon Barkley to take off on a 65-yard touchdown run on Philly’s first possession, but a few calls in this game were very frustrating.

After the Giants tied the score 7-7 on a touchdown pass from Jaxson Dart to Cameron Skattebo, the Eagles answered with a drive of their own that hit a snag when Jalen Hurts scrambled for eight yards on 3rd and 9. Usually this wouldn’t be a problem for Philly because of its famous Tush Push that it uses whenever there is one yard to go. However, this time Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the ball away from Hurts as he reached for the first down. This looked like a huge momentum shift as the Tush Push was not supposed to be beatable. It was a huge play early in the game, until the refs explained that Hurts’ forward momentum had stopped after he achieved the first down but before he lost the football. How convenient!

Some more looks at the non-fumble on the Eagles tush push due to forward progress being called.@KevinBurkhardt, @TomBrady, and @DeanBlandino discuss: pic.twitter.com/g1leAsahVS

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 26, 2025

I don’t understand how forward progress is stopped when the ball carrier is still moving forward. Since the call of forward progress being stopped isn’t able to be overturned by replay, the Giants couldn’t challenge the ruling (although they did anyway). Barkley caught a touchdown pass from Hurts two plays later to make the score 14-7 Eagles, and they would lead for the rest of the game.

To make matters worse for the Giants, Skattebo suffered a gruesome ankle injury on the ensuring possession, and he is presumed lost for the season. New York continued to battle, but it blew a huge chance to get off the field early in the fourth quarter when a Brian Burns sack for a massive 21-yard loss was immediately undone by a handoff to Tank Bigsby.

2nd & 31: 1st down Eagles pic.twitter.com/3jZC6OGHoM

— Bobby Skinner (@BobbySkinner_) October 26, 2025

That play led to a Hurt touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert, but the Giants appeared to bounce right back with Dart throwing a 68-yard touchdown pass to Darius Slayton on 4th and 11. Alas, the incredible play was overturned by a dubious offensive pass interference call, and that was pretty much it for the competitive part of the game. The Giants are now 2-6 and without Skattebo as well as Malik Nabers. They will take on the 49ers in New Jersey next Sunday.

As if the Giants game wasn’t sad enough, I got to watch the Knicks shoot 39 percent from the field at Miami and the Rangers lose 5-1 to the 1-7-1 Flames. We’ve got to do better this week.

The Dodgers needed a hero after the Blue Jays crushed them in Game 1 with a nine-run rally in the sixth inning that led to an 11-4 Toronto win. Los Angeles took an early 2-0 lead with an RBI single by Enrique Hernandez in the second inning and one by Will Smith in the third, but it both frames, the Dodgers could have had so much more. In the second, Andy Pages was struck out by Trey Yesavage with the bases loaded before Shohei Ohtani grounded out feebly to end the threat with just one run scored. In the third, Freddie Freeman was thrown out trying to reach third base on Smith’s RBI hit, and that helped Yesavage escape another jam without giving up a crooked number.

Blake Snell was shaky during his five innings. He gave up a two-run home run by Dalton Varsho in the fourth that tied the game and then loaded the bases in the sixth with a walk, a single by Alejandro Kirk, and a hit by pitch. That set the stage for Toronto’s massive rally with October gas can Emmet Sheehan allowing RBI singles to Ernie Clement and Andres Gimenez before Anthony Banda got taken deep by Addison Barger for the first pinch-hit grand slam in World Series history.

ADDISON BARGER
PINCH-HIT
GRAND SLAM#WORLDSERIES pic.twitter.com/REg58MNosp

— MLB (@MLB) October 25, 2025

If we didn’t want to see a Canadian team take a 2-0 lead in the World Series and get halfway towards breaking the nation’s Commissioner’s Trophy and Stanley Cup drought, we needed someone to step up and take a stand. That man was Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who in his last start pitched a complete game against the Brewers in Game 2 of the NLCS. No way he could repeat the feat in the year 2025, could he?

Yoshinobu Yamamoto closes out an incredible #WorldSeries performance 🤩 pic.twitter.com/fxWxO49kQN

— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2025

Unbelievably, in the era of pitch counts and babying of pitchers, Yamamoto made it through all nine innings again with just one run allowed and zero walks. He struck out eight Blue Jays, including three in a row during the eighth inning, and retired the last 20 batters that he faced. After Kirk hit a sac fly to tie the score at 1-1 in the bottom of the third inning, not one Toronto batter reached base. After Los Angeles rallied for two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings, it came away with a 5-1 victory to tie the World Series at one game apiece. What a heroic performance by Yamamoto, not just for the Dodgers, but for America. If not for Yamamoto’s gem, we could be two games away from Canadian sports fans saying “Who cares about the Stanley Cup drought? We won the World Series!”

And nobody wants that.

I was so happy to get off to a winning start in the Week 8 NFL picks. The Chargers destroyed the Vikings 37-10 on Thursday night to easily cover three and a half points. I even got some fantasy football help from Ladd McConkey, Kimani Vidal, and the Los Angeles defense that beat up Carson Wentz all game. In fact, the defense played a little too well because my only Minnesota fantasy start was Jordan Mason and he had more carries than rushing yards on the night. But that was okay because I was 1-0 to start the week thanks to my brilliant Chargers pick…

Nooooooooooo! Why? Why couldn’t one person pick the Vikings. They aren’t that bad! You rendered my victory meaningless! As if that wasn’t disappointing enough, the Rangers lost 6-5 in overtime to the previously winless Sharks and I am starting to think that New York will be stuck in misery for a long time. The Rangers are now 0-4-1 on home ice, and while it was nice to see the boys light the lamps a few times against horrible San Jose, it happened on the same night that Igor Shesterkin turned into a sieve between the pipes. Goal prevention was the one thing we were doing well, and when the offense breaks through, the goal prevention fails. That is poor complimentary hockey.

New York is 3-4-2 overall and starts a four-game west coast swing on Sunday. The season could be over by the time the Blueshirts return to Madison Square Garden a week from Tuesday. The Knicks thankfully have already won at game at MSG with their victory in the opener, and they’ll try to make it two in a row with Boston in town tonight.

The World Series gets started tonight as well with Blake Snell looking to build on a tremendous postseason run for the Dodgers against Trey Yesavage and the Blue Jays. A lot of people, even in these United States of America, are pulling for Toronto because they hate the Dodgers, but not me. I still remember how our national anthem was booed by the Canadians during last winter’s 4 Nations Face-Off. What good is Canada’s Stanley Cup drought if the country can claim a World Series? I don’t think it will be as fun to taunt Canada if it has a title in America’s Pastime, so the Dodgers must win!

Interestingly enough, Canada’s World Series drought goes back to 1993, the same year that the Stanley Cup drought began. Could this be the year of Canada? It better not be! I don’t even understand the Dodgers hatred so much. First of all, they beat the Phillies, so that makes them heroes. Second, they haven’t won consecutive World Series yet. When I was a boy, the Yankees were one inning away from winning four in a row! Now that was a dynasty. At least wait to hate the Dodgers until they win back-to-back titles.

It is a crazy time to be a sports fan with Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups being arrested on gambling-related charges this morning.

Rozier, who was arrested Thursday morning at a hotel in Orlando, Florida, is accused of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using insider NBA information. As part of the scheme, gamblers used nonpublic information to bet on at least seven NBA games between March 2023 and March 2024 involving the Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic, Trail Blazers, Los Angeles Lakers and Toronto Raptors, according to the indictment. In three of the seven games, players intentionally removed themselves from contests to benefit the gamblers’ bets, according to the indictment.

Billups, who was arrested in Oregon, is charged in a separate indictment alleging a wide-ranging scheme to rig underground poker games that were backed by Mafia families, authorities said. The defendants are accused of using technology to steal millions from victims in the New York area, Nocella said.

I used to think that the introduction of online sports betting wouldn’t lead to an increase in scandals like this one since betting was already available illegally. I was wrong because I failed to take into account how easy it would be to rig player props. It’s way easier than shaving points off a spread since that is something that a whole team might need to cooperate on. With these player props, you can just fake an injury and make your under hit, which is allegedly what Rozier did. If stuff like this isn’t cleaned up, the NBA could be ruined.

How do you even make that leap? Because of Kash Patel holding a press conference? Shouldn’t you want the NBA cleaned up if guys are throwing the ball away to tank their player props? Insane. https://t.co/7dJG5vk4TH

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) October 23, 2025

Stephen A. Smith seems to think that the gambling arrests are due to Donald Trump wanting revenge on the NBA. This would be a wild leap to make even if the FBI investigation wasn’t initiated before Trump took office. I don’t know if Smith feels the need to defend ESPN and its investment in sports betting, but he should be more worried about the integrity of the NBA and its players than the intentions of the FBI.

It’s a bad day to be Adam Silver, but it’s a great day to be a Knicks fan. They won their opener against Cleveland last night 119-111. That’s a big deal because the Cavaliers are considered by many to be New York’s top competitor for Eastern Conference supremacy. The Knicks saw their 15-point halftime lead disappear in the third quarter, but they bounced back with a 14-2 run to start the fourth that set them on the path to victory.

The game got a little dicey when Dean Wade and Sam Merrill hit back-to-back three-point shots to cut the Knicks’ lead to five with two minutes left, but OG Anunoby answered with a three of his own and Cleveland never got that close again. Anunoby ended up leading New York in scoring with 24 points and also grabbed 14 rebounds. The Knicks won this game despite a shooting disadvantage thanks to their dominance at the free throw line and on the offensive boards.

Here are my Week 8 NFL picks.

Vikings at Chargers -3.5

This game is going great for me and would be going even better if I had benched Jordan Mason in fantasy.

Dolphins +7.5 at Falcons

Many fans will write the Dolphins off after their terrible performance in Cleveland this week. I think they are much better suited to playing indoors.

Jets +6.5 at Bengals

Do we know who is playing quarterback for the Jets yet? Whoever it is will look good against a Cincinnati defense that is still lousy.

Browns at Patriots -7.5

The Patriots have covered twice in a row as favorites since upsetting Buffalo. They are for real.

Giants +7.5 at Eagles

This is a letdown spot for the Giants, but I’m taking them anyway because I’m too much of a fan.

Bills at Panthers +7.5

Buffalo ain’t beaten nobody and has only covered one spread all season.

Bears at Ravens -6.5

Chicago has won four in a row and is getting a touchdown against the most disappointing team in the NFL? Of course I’m taking Baltimore.

49ers -1.5 at Texans

This is a square play, but I’m back on the San Francisco bandwagon and it probably only has to win outright.

Buccaneers at Saints +5.5

The Saints have lost outright and against the spread in their two games since beating my Giants. Hopefully a home dog spot against a rival will change the trend.

Cowboys at Broncos -3.5

Cowboys at home was an easy win last week. Cowboys on the road should be an easy fade this week.

Titans +14.5 at Colts

I can’t stop picking Tennessee no matter how horrible it is.

Packers at Steelers +3.5

Home dog Mike Tomlin against a Green Bay team that still hasn’t covered since the first two weeks of the season when everyone thought it was going to the Super Bowl.

Commanders +10.5 at Chiefs

Marcus Mariota isn’t a huge downgrade from Jayden Daniels.

The NBA returned to NBC for the start of the regular season on Tuesday night, and while everyone on the internet was jacked up for the iconic theme music, we also got a pair of pretty good basketball games with the defending champion Thunder needing double overtime to defeat the Rockets 125-124. In the late game, the Warriors overcame a great game from Luka Doncic to defeat the Lakers in Los Angeles 119-109.

Doncic had 43 points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists on 17-for-27 shooting, but Austin Reaves was the only other Laker to score more than 10 points. He contributed 26 points and nine dimes, but Reaves and Doncic combined to shoot just 3-for-15 from beyond the arc while the Warriors shot 17-for-40 from deep despite Steph Curry only going 3-for-9 from there. Instead, it was Jonathan Kuminga (4-for-6) and Buddy Hield (5-for-10) setting the pace for Golden State from three-point range.

Jimmy Butler III… clutch bucket 😤

He leads the Dubs with 31 tonight in LA! pic.twitter.com/og3BZyRMN8

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2025

The Lakers trailed by double digits for most of the fourth quarter, but Reaves brought them within six with four minutes left by feeding Deandre Ayton for a fast break layup and then driving for a reverse layup himself after a Curry misfire to cap a 9-0 run. Jimmy Butler made sure that was as close as Los Angeles would get, as he fed Draymond Green for a clutch three from the corner and later drove past Doncic for a layup to push the lead back up to 10. Butler ruled the inside of the arc last night with 31 points and 16 coming on free throws.

The thriller in Oklahoma City came to an anticlimactic ending when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drew a shooting foul on Kevin Durant to set up the go-ahead free throws with just two seconds left. Houston had a chance to respond for the win, but Jabari Smith Jr. found nothing but air on his baseline jumper attempt. The Thunder lead by four with a minute to play back in the first overtime, but after two Josh Okogie free throws for Houston, Alperen Sengun rejected Alex Caruso at the rim and then jammed home a rebound on his own miss to tie the score at 115-115. The 23-year-old Sengun isn’t the biggest name on this Houston team, but he may be its most important player. He looked like the best player on the floor last night for either squad with 39 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.

SHAI SENDS IT TO OT ON OPENING NIGHT 🍿

104-104 ON NBC & PEACOCK.

WHAT. A. GAME. pic.twitter.com/ace9ZJdPiB

— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2025

Sengun might have had the game-winning bucket in the fourth quarter when his runner in the paint gave Houston a one-point lead, but after Durant hit one of two free throws, SGA pulled up and hit the game-tying jumper in front of Amen Thompson. Sengun had a chance to win the game when he caught the ensuing inbounds pass on the elbow, but his jumper over Lu Dort missed wildly off the glass.

The West is loaded with competitors who plan on derailing OKC’s quest to repeat as champion, but the Rockets looked like one of the fiercest on opening night. It’s important to note, though, that the Thunder are not at full strength yet with Jalen Williams still on the mend from offseason wrist surgery.

The second night of the NBA regular season brings the debut of my Knicks, who are looking at their best chance to return to the NBA Finals since they last made it there in 1999. Both the Celtics and the Pacers are missing key players due to Achilles injuries suffered in last season’s Playoffs. That leaves Cleveland as the Knicks’ top competition, and it is Cleveland that New York is starting the campaign against tonight. A win would establish the Knicks as the top dogs in the East right off the bat. On the other hand, a loss will have fans questioning if the Knicks will ever break through during the window that was opened when Jalen Brunson arrived.

The Houston vs. Seattle NFL game last night devolved into a rock fight that was painful to watch, but staying up late was worth it because I won my fantasy match despite Jahmyr Gibbs going off for 222 total yards and two touchdowns in the early game. The other player that my fantasy opponent had in Tampa Bay vs. Detroit was Jameson Williams, and he was held to a big ole goose egg on two targets. When the action shifted to Seattle, Ka’imi Fairbairn kept my opponent closer with a pair of field goals in the second quarter, but the Seahawks defense came through for me by holding Nico Collins to 27 receiving yards before he exited in the fourth quarter due to a concussion.

Seattle led 27-12 at that point, but Houston would get plenty of chances to come back thanks to two late turnovers on a fumble by Elijah Arroyo and an interception by Sam Darnold. The Texans turned the ball over on downs following both Seattle mistakes thanks to their inability to break through at the goal line. A 21-yard strike from C.J. Stroud to Jaylin Noel set Houston up with 1st and goal from the three-yard line, but the Texans failed four straight times to score a touchdown, with the last three plays coming after Woody Marks carried the ball down to the one-yard line.

Just like the Giants on Sunday afternoon, the Seahawks did everything you’re not supposed to do when holding a multi-score lead on offense. It’s amazing what a difference a competent defense makes. Seattle’s bailed the offense out of turnovers while New York’s collapsed and blew the game even after Jaxson Dart scored a go-ahead touchdown in the final 40 seconds.

The early game also featured a great defensive performance with the Lions holding Baker Mayfield and the explosive Tampa Bay attack to just nine points. It didn’t help the Buccaneers that Mike Evans suffered a broken collarbone in the second quarter and is expected to miss most of the remainder of the regular season, but Tez Johnson continued to emerge as a star with 58 receiving yards, including 22 on a catch-and-run touchdown midway through the third quarter that made the score 14-9. Johnson is proving to be a steal in the seventh round of this year’s NFL Draft and could terrorize opposing secondaries alongside fellow rookie Emeka Egbuka for years to come.

That's ✌️ of them @Jahmyr_Gibbs1#TBvsDET 📺 ESPN/ABC pic.twitter.com/R6EzkRZJ6W

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) October 21, 2025

The Johnson touchdown gave Tampa Bay some momentum, but Detroit took it right back with Jahmyr Gibbs touching the ball four straight times to cover 49 yards on the way to the end zone and put the Lions back up by 12. Aidan Hutchinson and the Detroit defense would turn the Bucs over on downs three times in the fourth quarter to put the game away.

While all of this football was going on, the Toronto Blue Jays were busy clinching their first American League pennant since 1993. The Mariners were in control of the game through six innings thanks to a go-ahead solo shot by Julio Rodriguez in the third and another from Cal Raleigh in the fifth to make the score 3-1.

Seattle manager Dan Wilson made an interesting decision to take George Kirby out of the game at four innings and 65 pitches even though he had settled down nicely after allowing a run in the first inning. The decision played out well for the Mariners when Bryan Woo cruised through the fifth and the sixth, but then he walked Addison Barger to lead off the seventh and Isiah Kiner-Falefa followed with a single up the middle. Wilson brought in Eduard Bazardo to face George Springer at the top of the order, and Springer blasted Bazardo’s 1-0 fastball into the seats in left field to send all of Canada into a frenzy.

George Springer: BIG TIME PLAYER #SpringerDinger pic.twitter.com/pnkTKB7OOA

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) October 21, 2025

The home run was another heroic postseason moment for Springer and another painful memory for Mariners fans, who watched their team blow a two-game advantage to Toronto and a golden opportunity to finally win the pennant. Seattle has only taken six trips to the Postseason in franchise history, so who knows when its next shot will be?

Hey, you know who used to play in Seattle? The NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder! They won the NBA championship last season and open the new season tonight against the new-look Houston Rockets. Oklahoma City is favored to repeat as champs, but no NBA team has done that since the Warriors in 2018. Maybe my Knicks will be a serious challenger again this season after their disappointing loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals last spring. New York opens its campaign on Wednesday against the Cavaliers, who are expected to be the Knicks’ top competition in the Eastern Conference.

Tonight is going to be wild. We’ve got two Monday Night Football games on and I’m leading my fantasy football match by 54 points. My opponent has Jahmyr Gibbs, Jameson Williams, Nico Collins, and Ka’imi Fairbairn. I’m in the clubhouse with all my players having played already. Can I pull it out?! It’s a good thing there’s a Rangers hockey game and Game 7 of the ALCS to distract me from my huge fantasy lead slipping away like the Giants’ 19-point advantage in the fourth quarter yesterday.

Trey Yesavage gets out of it AGAIN! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/6bjckV1a7a

— MLB (@MLB) October 20, 2025

The Mariners had a chance to clinch their first American League pennant in franchise history on Sunday night, but Cal Raleigh and J.P. Crawford hit into inning-ending double plays with the bases loaded in consecutive innings. Meanwhile, Toronto jumped out to a 5-0 lead thanks to Addison Barger hitting an RBI single in the second inning and a two-run tater in the third. Seattle finally broke through against Blue Jays starter Trey Yesavage in the sixth inning with a solo shot from Josh Naylor and an RBI single by Eugenio Suarez, but it wasn’t enough and the Mariners were shut down by Louis Varland and Jeff Hoffman the rest of the way.

There’s a lot on the line tonight with the Mariners looking for that first World Series appearance and the Blue Jays trying to return to the Fall Classic for the first time since winning it on Joe Carter’s walk-off home run in 1993. George Kirby will start on the mound for Seattle against Shane Bieber for Toronto. Kirby had two solid outings against Detroit in October before getting lit up by the Blue Jays for eight runs in four innings during Game 3. Bieber that night allowed a two-run homer to Julio Rodriguez in the first but then shut out the Mariners for the next five innings. Based on how Game 3 went down, I have to give Toronto the edge, and the bookmakers have made the home team a -135 favorite.

Hopefully by the time Game 7 begins at 8:10 PM, the Rangers will have finally scored a goal on their home ice. That’s right, despite playing at Madison Square Garden three times this year, New York is yet to light the lamp at home. If the scoreless streak goes on for one more night, I might go insane. Puck drop vs. Minnesota is a little after 7:00 PM.

The NFL games might drive me crazy anyway because I need to get both picks right in order to return to a .500 record, but the fantasy players I’m up against are on the same teams that I picked. The game plan is for Amon-Ra St. Brown to horde all the touchdowns for Detroit in a relatively low-scoring game. The key part is low-scoring, because I think there could easily be 70 total points in this game despite Tampa Bay being banged up at wide receiver. In the late game, we will rely on a strong rushing attack from Houston in the red zone so that the Texans get in the end zone and Fairbairn doesn’t get many field goal attempts.

I don’t know why I keep going back to football. It has made me so sad this weekend with the way it has given hope to my teams and then snatched it away. I should be thinking about the fun times I had with my family on Saturday and Sunday, but instead I’m dwelling on Penn State losing to Iowa after taking an 11-point lead in the third quarter and the New York Giants losing to Denver after taking a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter. I don’t know why I expect my teams to come through. They keep fooling me again and again before pulling the rug out from under me and leaving me in pain.

The Penn State loss doesn’t even seem that bad anymore when compared to the Giants, but it would have been really cool to win in a tough road environment during Terry Smith’s first game as interim head coach and Ethan Grunkemeyer’s first game as starting quarterback. That would have been a huge lift for the program, but once again Jim Knowles’ defense failed to contain a scrambling quarterback.

RUN MARK RUN 😏@mgronowski11 x #Hawkeyes
pic.twitter.com/4xpwzXTb38

— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) October 19, 2025

Penn State’s offense could have done more in this game. It could have converted a goal-to-go situation into a touchdown with five minutes to play in the fourth quarter and went up by nine points instead of settling for a field goal and a five-point lead. Given the inexperienced quarterback and a tough Iowa defense, though, I was happy with how the offense played. Kaytron Allen grinded out 145 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries while keeping Grunkemeyer out of third and long for most of the night. The defense had to step up and keep Iowa out of the end zone with five minutes left, but instead it allowed Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski to take off on a 67-yard run. Kaden Wetjen scored on a jet sweep for the go-ahead touchdown on the next play.

The tackling on that play was atrocious with Zakee Wheatley and Elliot Washington II both whiffing on Gronowski at the same time instead of stopping him for a seven-yard gain. I don’t know if you can blame Knowles for that, but something is wrong with this defense and the way it allows the opponent to score a touchdown in every key spot during this four-game losing streak. Against Oregon, Penn State led by a touchdown in overtime and the Ducks faced 2nd and 13 after a botched handoff. They scored two touchdowns in a row before sealing the game with an interception.

In the UCLA game, there were many opportunities to stop the Bruins’ momentum and get the ball back in Drew Allar’s hands, but the defense allowed Nico Iamaleava to convert third down after third down with his scrambling. Finally it looked like Penn State would stop the bleeding at home vs. Northwestern, but the defense allowed the Wildcats to answer the Lions’ 91-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter with a 75-yard drive of their own to win the game.

Kick 6️⃣@XavierGilliam_ @E_WashingtonII #WeAre | LIVE on @Peacock

pic.twitter.com/BGEyAtsq1i

— Penn State Football (@PennStateFball) October 19, 2025

The defense made some plays at Iowa, like Wheatley’s interception on Iowa’s first drive that led to Penn State taking the lead. There was also the blocked field goal and touchdown return at the end of the first half that put Penn State ahead before halftime. It really looked like the Lions might come away with an emotional win when Allen finished their 75-yard drive at the start of the third quarter with an eight-yard touchdown run, but that 21-10 lead slowly evaporated due to mistakes on both sides of the ball.

Penn State now has a bye week before playing the top two teams in the country, so there’s a good chance we see the losing streak reach six games before the Lions sniff a conference win. On the other hand, it would be hilarious to upset Ohio State right after firing James Franklin.

This stretch of Penn State football would be easier to manage if the Giants weren’t also posting heartbreaking losses, but after giving the fan base hope with an upset win over Philadelphia 10 days ago, the familiar pain and misery returned in a historic collapse at Denver.

NFL teams had won 1,602 consecutive games when leading by 18+ points with six minutes or less to play in the fourth quarter until the Giants' loss to the Broncos today

(h/t Kevin Harlan/CBS) pic.twitter.com/bx03Gklp7j

— Giants Videos (@SNYGiants) October 19, 2025

It sure looked like the Giants had the game in hand when Tyrone Tracy Jr. scored on a 31-yard touchdown run to make the score 19-0 late in the third quarter. It looked that way some more when the Giants answered Denver’s first score of the game with Theo Johnson catching a 3rd and 17 throw that bounced off of Wan’Dale Robinson and taking it 41 yards to the end zone. You don’t get a huge break like that to take an 18-point lead with 10 minutes to play and lose the game. Unless you’re the New York Football Giants.

Bo Nix led Denver on a 74-yard touchdown drive to cut the deficit to 10 with five minutes left. It’s really hard to score twice in five minutes, so it was smart of the Giants to run the ball twice on the ensuing possession to make the Broncos use two of their three timeouts. It was on third down where the Giants made a major error.

Justin Strnad's interception was a game-changer for the @Broncos 🔥 pic.twitter.com/MpdHfBEqCX

— NFL (@NFL) October 20, 2025

I’m okay with throwing the ball there. I know there was a two-score lead and that the Giants could have ran Denver out of timeouts, but I am a big believer in moving the chains to run out the clock instead of just running the ball. The problem was Jaxson Dart making his worst throw of the game at the worst possible time. If the Giants convert the third down, they can run more clock and punt and the game is probably over. If the Giants run for three yards and a cloud of dust, Denver uses its last timeout and has to score very quickly to avoid the necessity of an onside kick. If Dart throws an incomplete pass instead of an interception, Denver still has to score quickly, but it has slightly more margin for error because of the timeout. I think taking the risk of going for the first down is worth it.

The problem is that the interception allowed the Broncos to score in less than a minute, but the Giants still had a chance to run out the clock with a first down. Instead, Dart overthrew Robinson after two Cam Skattebo runs for a total of two yards. Denver got the ball back with more than enough time to line up a game-tying field goal, and it turned out to be more than enough time to score a go-ahead touchdown. The Broncos did just that after Nix hooked up with Marvin Mims for 31 yards on 3rd and 11. The sophomore quarterback then found former Giants tight end Evan Engram for another 20-yard chunk before scrambling 18 yards into the end zone with 1:51 on the clock.

Somehow, the game was still far from over. Dart pulled a rabbit out of the hat when he connected with Robinson for 20 yards on 4th and 19. The addition of a roughing-the-passer penalty put New York 40 yards away from paydirt, but that may have been a curse in disguise with the way this game turned out. A 39-yard pass interference flag on a pass intended for Beaux Collins moved the Giants within a yard of the go-ahead score, and they got that score on a keeper by Dart that was initially ruled short of the goal line.

It turns out that the Giants needed Dart to be short of the goal line so that they could run more time off of the clock and escape with a victory, because 37 seconds was still plenty of time for Nix to set up a game-winning field goal. And game-winning it was because Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point of the game after Dart’s run was ruled a touchdown. This guy is kicking the NFL after going 12 for 19 on field goals during his career at Rutgers, including just four makes out of seven attempts on kicks between 30 and 39 yards. Younghoe Koo only made 74 percent of his field goals last year, but he was perfect on extra points, and more importantly has been kicking professionally since 2017. Why is he on the practice squad and McAtamney dressing for games?

Maybe the Giants lose this game in overtime (I’m actually sure of it), but it would have been nice to find out even though in the moment I just wanted to be put out of my misery. The final fail of the game was New York defensive coordinator Shane Bowen setting up the same three-man-rush prevent defense that allowed the Cowboys to set up their game-tying field goal in the final seconds of the Week 2 game in Dallas. How has Bowen not learned anything since then?! The soft coverage and zero pass rush allowed Nix to find Marvin Mims on the Giants’ 48-yard line. I’m fully confident that Wil Lutz would have crushed a 65-yard kick from there to finish the Giants, but just in case Nix hit Courtland Sutton down the sideline for 22 more yards. Lutz calmly hit the 39-yard field goal to end the game.

It will be tough to find a more brutal loss than that. The defense was great for three quarters and then gave up four touchdown drives in a row plus the game-winning field goal drive. Jaxson Dart was poised a precise until his interception helped give the game away. The Giants were rolling towards another win that looked like it would give the team a shot at the playoffs in 2025, but instead we are looking ahead to 2026. Maybe we’ll get sucked into believing again a week from now in Philadelphia, or maybe the Eagles will offer a harsh dose of reality. I’m sure either way it will be torture.

Six shutout innings, 10 strikeouts, and three home runs. Those are the numbers we will be talking about for years to come when we speak of one of the greatest postseason performances of all time. Of course it was done by Shohei Ohtani, the only man capable of even pitching and hitting in the same baseball game, let alone dominating in both aspects to almost single-handedly clinch the pennant for the Dodgers.

SHOHEI OHTANI HAS TAKEN OVER

HE LEAVES THE YARD AGAIN 💥 pic.twitter.com/ul2EcfZtxk

— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025

Perhaps the only thing you can say to drag down Ohtani’s accomplishment is that the series appeared well in hand no matter what happened with the Dodgers ahead 3-0. Maybe the next time Ohtani takes the mound, it will be in a critical spot in the World Series. Still, what Ohtani did is baseball magic, especially since he didn’t get back to pitching this year until the middle of the season. For him to be dominant over six innings and hit three home runs, including one nuke that left Dodger Stadium, puts him in the realm of October legends like Don Larsen and Reggie Jackson.

The Dodgers are now four wins away from becoming the first repeat World Series champs since the 2000 Yankees, but we don’t yet know which American League team will try to stop them. After two games of the ALCS, it looked like that squad would certainly be the Mariners, but then the Blue Jays struck back with two huge wins in Seattle. Toronto appeared to be on its way to taking control of the series when George Springer hit an RBI double in the fifth inning and Ernie Clement hit an RBI single in the sixth to overcome an early 1-0 deficit. Clement’s big hit made up for him dribbling into a 2-2-3 double play with the bases loaded in the fourth and got Alejandro Kirk to chug around from second base for the go-ahead run.

EUGENIO SUÁREZ CONNECTS AGAIN IN GRAND FASHION 🤯

WHAT A GAME IN SEATTLE 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9BQVmonoum

— MLB (@MLB) October 18, 2025

It turns out that the Blue Jays could have used a hit from Clement in the fourth as well. That’s because, unlike in Game 3 and Game 4, the Mariners fought back. Cal Raleigh grew his legend with a game-tying solo shot in the eighth off of Brandon Little. Then, after Seattle loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch, Eugenio Suarez unloaded with an opposite-field grand slam off of Seranthony Dominguez. The clutch blast gave the Mariners a 6-2 victory and gave them two chances to clinch their first ever AL pennant. They’ll have to do the clinching in Toronto, but they’ve already won twice there this series.

Two results on the gridiron had an effect on the Penn State coaching search, as Nebraska lost to Minnesota 24-6 to knock Matt Rhule down the list of potential candidates. Someone who might take his place on the list is Jeff Brohm, who led his Louisville Cardinals to a big 24-21 upset over Miami despite a late fumble by Isaac Brown that allowed the Canes to get back in the game. Miami got the ball back trailing by three with just under four minutes left, but Carson Beck thew his fourth interception of the game after leading his team into field goal range. Poor Miami got a dose of the old Beck at the worst possible time.

Jeff Brohm resume:

* Played for a Big Ten title… at Purdue
* Goes to Louisville and immediately wins 10 and 9 games in first two years
* Now 5-1 in 2025 and just dropped No. 3 Miami

Brohm: Best coach most people dont realize is truly… ELITE 😤😤 pic.twitter.com/JVMEpp27Cb

— Aaron Torres (@Aaron_Torres) October 18, 2025

Brohm is a great candidate for the next Penn State head coach, but Louisville is his alma mater, so he might be tough to pry away. I still think Pat Fitzgerald is being overlooked, especially since he does not hold a coaching job right now.

Remember when fans used to complain about the lack of quality football on Thursday nights? Thursday Night Football used to be considered one of the worst games of the week where the most interesting story line was how bright the Color Rush uniforms were. In 2025, fans are singing a different tune, and you can bet that Roger Goodell and Jeff Bezos are smiling and laughing about it. They deserve to smile and laugh, because for three weeks in a row, Amazon Prime has been the home of shocking upsets and great performances from star players.

Two weeks ago, Mac Jones and Matthew Stafford dueled into overtime where San Francisco pulled off a 26-23 win. Last week, Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo stole the spotlight from the Super Bowl champion Eagles, and this week it was all about Ja’Marr Chase and the Unc Bowl. Not only did the league’s best wide receiver go off 16 catches on an insane 23 targets for 161 yards and a score during Cincinnati’s last-second 33-31 win over the rival Steelers, but Joe Flacco had a throwback performance of his own. The 40-year-old veteran threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns in just his second game with Cincinnati after being traded from Cleveland. It turns out that Mike Tomlin was right about the Browns making another short-sighted move.

The Browns traded Joe Flacco to the Cincinnati Bengals just so they could beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in Primetime and Mike Tomlin knew it. pic.twitter.com/7aNvKFUSPa

— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) October 17, 2025

Pittsburgh overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter and took the lead with two minutes and 20 seconds remaining thanks to its own old man quarterback. Aaron Rodgers took advantage of a busted coverage on 2nd and 20 and found Pat Freiermuth for a 68-yard touchdown strike that gave the tight end over 100 receiving yards for the game. It also gave the Steelers a one-point lead, but it was one that the team’s shaky defense could not hold.

Joe Flacco needed just four plays to drive from the Cincinnati 30-yard line to Pittsburgh’s seven thanks to Chase being always open. He caught consecutive passes for 33 yards total, and after a running play Flacco found Tee Higgins down the sideline for a potential touchdown. Higgins instead decided to slide down so that the Bengals could run the clock down to 11 seconds and kick a game-winning field goal.

FLACCO DIME TO HIGGINS WHO MAKES A HIGH IQ PLAY 🔥

PITvsCIN on Prime Video
Also streaming on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/5kbBK0eoaO

— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

Amazingly, Cincinnati’s smart clock management did not stop Rodgers from getting a shot at the end zone. He uncorked a Hail Mary from just outside Pittsburgh’s own 30-yard-line that reached the end zone, but the prayer was swatted down by Cincinnati’s DJ Ivey.

Rodgers attempts a Hail Mary but the Bengals have it covered.

CINCY WINS. pic.twitter.com/tXMLNgUlng

— NFL (@NFL) October 17, 2025

The theme of old guys proving that they still had it ended up transcending the sports landscape on Thursday. Max Scherzer was coming off of a horrendous September, but he gave Toronto just what it needed in his first October start of the season. Mad Max allowed just two runs in five and two thirds innings while the Blue Jays rallied for three runs in the third and two more in the fourth. For the second game in a row, Seattle took an early lead with a chance to take a commanding lead in the ALCS, but once again the Mariners were blown out by their Canadian opponent, this time by the score of 8-2.

Former Mets shortstop Andres Gimenez has become an unlikely hero for Toronto. In both Game 3 and Game 4, he hit a two-run blast that erased his team’s early deficit and ignited a rally that Seattle couldn’t recover from. The Mariners appeared to have a tight grip on this series, but now there is a possibility that they could blow their best chance since 2001 to capture the first pennant in franchise history. Game 5 is tonight and there will be a lot of nervous fans at T-Mobile Park with Bryce Miller getting the start for the home team and Kevin Gausman on the bump for Toronto.

Just like Seattle, the Dodgers won their first two Championship Series games on the road, but they found a way to win Game 3 at home as well. Tyler Glasnow was not very impressive compared to what Los Angeles got from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in the first two games against Milwaukee, but he still pitched five and two thirds innings with just one run allowed. The Brewers were expected to use Jose Quintana in this game, but instead they stuck with Jacob Misiorowski for five innings after Aaron Ashby opened the game and immediately surrendered a run on a triple by Shohei Ohtani and a double from Mookie Betts.

The Miz was pretty awesome, but there was no room for error with how Glasnow and the Dodgers bullpen were dealing. Tommy Edman’s RBI single in the sixth inning off of Misiorowski turned out to be the game-winner. The Brewers will try to stay alive in Game 4 tonight with Ohtani pitching for the Dodgers. Milwaukee hasn’t announced a starter yet, so it might finally be Quintana’s time to shine.

There is also a surprisingly solid college football slate tonight with Louisville visiting Miami and Bill Belichick’s North Carolina tire fire headed west to take on Cal. We also get to see Nebraska put its top-25 ranking to the test at Minnesota and the nation’s receiving yards leader Danny Scudero put his skills on display for San Jose State against Utah State.

I went 7-8 in NFL picks during Week 6 to drop my record to 46-47 on the season. Fortunately, that is still good enough for second place in the prestigious ChabDog Sports Talk group. On the other hand, it is just one bad pick away from fourth place. Look at that logjam between myself, Eric, and Frank! Meanwhile, Abe is still a savant and poor Doggie is bringing up the rear.

I got off to a hot start last week with the Giants winning outright and the Jets covering in an ugly loss. It got bad after that, but I still could have finished above .500 for the week if Washington had just held onto the ball and kicked a field goal to go ahead by five instead of botching the handoff and costing me by survivor pool pick as well. The only good thing to come out of that game was Jayden Daniels scrapping together enough fantasy points to win a matchup for me. Shout out to the Chicago defense for forgetting Luke McCaffrey exists on that one play.

Anyway, time to move on to Week 7 and try to make a dent in Abe’s lead.

Steelers -5.5 at Bengals

Cincinnati traded for Joe Flacco last week, and while he wasn’t very impressive in the team’s loss to Green Bay, he did enough to cover the massive two-touchdown spread. The Bengals still stink, so I am fading them with the spread inside of a touchdown.

Rams -2.5 vs. Jaguars

I have read Jacksonville well in the last two weeks since they blew up my 49ers pick. This week, I foresee more pain for the Jags against another NFC West opponent. The Rams might be missing Puka Nacua in this London game, but that just means more balls for Davante Adams.

Saints +5.5 at Bears

This will be a letdown for Chicago after its big win over Washington. New Orleans has been bad on the road this year, but Spencer Rattler is looking more and more like a competent quarterback. The Bears could easily blow another coverage like they did with McCaffrey and allow a backdoor cover.

Dolphins +2.5 at Browns

Miami has an embarrassing 1-5 record, but it has not played embarrassing football since being blow out by Indianapolis in the opener. In Week 6, the Dolphins lost to the Chargers despite scoring a go-ahead touchdown in the final minute. In Week 5, they lost on a late touchdown to a Carolina team that is looking increasingly respectable. In Week 7, it’s time to get a dub. The weather is expected to be extremely windy, so stacking the box and letting Dillon Gabriel do something stupid will be key.

Patriots at Titans +7.5

Last week I said that the Raiders shouldn’t be favored by four and a half points against anyone and they beat Tennessee by 10. I am giving the Titans another chance even though their only win this season was the flukiest win I’ve ever seen. Fading them seems too square. I really hate this pick.

Raiders +12.5 at Chiefs

The Raiders lost to the Chiefs twice last year and it was only by a combined nine points.

Eagles at Vikings +1.5

Carson Wentz revenge game? This line is so sketchy that I had to pick Minnesota. Maybe the Birds are broken.

Panthers -1.5 at Jets

Carolina has won three out of four and might be good. It might not have come against the best competition, but this team has shown it can pound the rock with Rico Dowdle.

Giants +7.5 at Broncos

Homer pick! I will be very surprised if the Giants can pull off a repeat performance of last week on the road against a good defense. On the other hand, Denver’s offense has not been consistent, so staying within seven points is doable.

Colts at Chargers -1.5

The Chargers have underperformed for the last three weeks, and they could have lost three in a row if not for their last-minute comeback at Miami. That’s why I love this pick. All the squares will be picking the darling of the league plus the points.

Commanders at Cowboys +1.5

Cowboys score unlimited points at home and Dak Prescott’s connection with George Pickens continues to grow stronger.

Packers at Cardinals +6.5

Arizona’s offense looked pretty good with Jacoby Brissett leading the charge and Green Bay has been pretty awful since it’s 2-0 start that made everyone hand them the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Falcons at 49ers -1.5

Give Atlanta credit. It has bounced back and won two straight since being shut out by Carolina. The Falcons will be very tough if they can continue to get great performances from Bijan Robinson and Drake London, both of whom looked unstoppable against Buffalo. Why am I picking San Francisco? I don’t trust Atlanta on the road yet and the Falcons will be a square pick after the big win on the national stage.

Buccaneers at Lions -5.5

I don’t know why this spread is more than three points and that scares me.

Texans +3.5 at Seahawks

Houston has won two straight over two very down bad teams. Are the Texans any good? This game will be a good measuring stick.

It’s hard to lose in the MLB Postseason when you get back-to-back starting pitching performances like the ones that the Dodgers got from Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto in Game 1 and Game 2 of the NLCS in Milwaukee. On Monday night, Snell allowed just one hit in eight shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and the Dodgers almost blew the game because Dave Roberts decided to let his bullpen handle the ninth inning. After Los Angeles hung on to win 2-1, Yamamoto took the mound on Tuesday night and allowed a leadoff home run to Jackson Chourio. However, the Brewers would reach base just four more times after that as Yamamoto used 111 pitches to throw a complete game in a 5-1 Dodgers victory.

YOSHINOBU YAMAMOTO FINISHES OFF A COMPLETE GAME ON PITCH NO. 111!#NLCS pic.twitter.com/swcxV67ouu

— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2025

Los Angeles quickly countered Chourio’s solo shot with a pair of runs in the top of the second inning on a Teoscar Hernandez home run and an RBI double by Andy Pages. The Dodgers tacked on a run each in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, including a solo shot by Max Muncy that made him the franchise’s Postseason home run leader with 14. That’s one more than both Corey Seager and Justin Turner and three more than Duke Snider.

Yamamoto got stronger as the game wore on and retired the last 14 batters he faced. He and Snell became the first pair of teammates to last at least eight innings in back-to-back starts of a single Postseason series since Madison Bumgarner and Tim Lincecum did it in the 2010 World Series. If you only include Dodgers history, you have to go back to Orel Hershiser and Tim Belcher in the 1988 NLCS against my Mets.

The Dodgers get to head home with a chance to put away the underdog Brewers and move even closer to their dreams of a repeat World Series championship. The Mariners also have a chance to finish their series at home, but that chance took a big blow on Wednesday night when the Blue Jays posted a 13-4 win in Game 3.

Daulton Varsho makes it a 5-run inning for the @BlueJays! pic.twitter.com/lbrDBbr4ei

— MLB (@MLB) October 16, 2025

It looked like we were getting more of the same from Seattle and Toronto when Julio Rodriguez took Shane Bieber deep for a two-run home run in the first inning, but Bieber would settle down while the Blue Jays rallied for 12 runs between the third and sixth innings. Andres Gimenez got Canada up and running with a two-run shot off of George Kirby and Dalton Varsho followed with a two-RBI double later in the inning. The Blue Jays kept pouring on the offense with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. going 4-for-4 with a walk, three runs scored, and a home run. George Springer, Alejandro Kirk, and Addison Barger also went deep for the visitors.

Toronto will have a shot at tying up the series on Thursday night, but they’ll have to do so with Max Scherzer on the mound. He is making his first start of this Postseason after posting a 10.20 ERA in four September starts. The Blue Jays are hoping that he can channel the Scherzer of six years ago, because Seattle is sending Luis Castillo to the hill, and he allowed just one hit in six innings against Detroit in the ALDS.

Back in the National League, Tyler Glasnow will try to keep the elite starting pitching going for Los Angeles. He is coming off six shutout innings in the series-clinching victory against Philadelphia last week. The Brewers haven’t announced a starter for a must-win Game 3, but Jose Quintana is expected to play a big role after throwing three scoreless innings against the Cubs in NLDS Game 3.

Neither Quintana nor [Milwaukee manager Pat] Murphy have revealed whether the left-hander will start or — more likely — work behind an opener (or behind multiple relievers, as he did in NLDS Game 3). The Dodgers will have left-handed hitters Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman lurking in the top half of their lineup, as they usually do, but manager Dave Roberts will intersperse them with potent right-handed hitters Mookie Betts, Will Smith and Teoscar Hernández.

With the Blue Jays winning tonight, we are guaranteed two straight days of Championship Series doubleheaders. It will be fun to see if Toronto and Milwaukee can battle back on the road with their disadvantages in the pitching department.

How does this keep happening?! It was disappointing when the Rangers were shut out on opening night at MSG by the lowly Penguins. It was strange when they didn’t score again in a loss to the Capitals on Sunday night. Then, on Tuesday night the Rangers lost 2-0 at home to the Oilers and it is starting to feel like a sick joke or a curse or both. How do you not have a home goal in 180 minutes?! The worst part is that scoring on Edmonton is supposed to be the easy part. New York let in just one goal against Connor McDavid and company before the net was emptied, and yet the Blueshirts still came up short. They even had back-to-back power plays (only a few seconds of five-on-three) followed by a breakaway for Sam Carrick, but nothing went in the net.

Raise the banner #nyr https://t.co/8QJtJLuH0K

— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) October 15, 2025

At least the Rangers have 10 goals in two road games, albeit against two lousy squads in Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Another silver lining is that New York outshot the defending Western Conference champions 30-22, but it’s painful to get shut out by Stuart Skinner, who had just six career shutouts in 168 career starts before Tuesday.

We saw two upsets on Monday Night Football with Buffalo falling in Atlanta 24-14 for a second straight loss and Washington losing at home to Chicago 25-24 in heartbreaking fashion. The Bills had a lot of trouble defending the Falcons’ star players with Drake London catching 10 passes for 158 yards and a score and Bijan Robinson gaining 170 yards on the ground and another 68 in the passing game. Robinson’s night was highlighted by an 81-yard touchdown run in which he ran over Buffalo safety Cole Bishop along the sideline without stepping out of bounds.

BIJAN ROBINSON 81-YARD TD!

BUFvsATL on ESPN
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/Nfb1IdvNK8

— NFL (@NFL) October 14, 2025

That is pure savagery. The Bills appeared to get back in the game when they strolled down the field on their first possession of the third quarter and scored on a touchdown pass from Josh Allen to Ray Davis. That brought Buffalo back within seven points, but the offense would go to bed for the rest of the game. The Falcons did a great job pressuring Allen with blitzes, which seems like a good strategy when Buffalo lacks a superstar receiver who can burn one-on-one coverage. Sure enough, Allen was held to 15-for-26 passing and just 180 yards with two interceptions and two touchdowns. No Buffalo receiver caught more than three passes, and Joshua Palmer led the team in receiving with 60 yards despite catching a 45-yard bomb on the Bills’ first play from scrimmage.

Despite the disappointing offensive performance, the Bills hung tight throughout the second half, and the game might have come out differently if not for a botched third down play early in the fourth quarter. With Buffalo facing 3rd and 1 from around midfield, Allen tried to hand off to Elijah Moore on a misdirection end around play, but the ball came loose, resulting in a four-yard loss. If the Bills had tried just about anything else, they probably get the necessary yard on either third or fourth down, but instead they punted and only saw the ball one more time before Atlanta’s clock-killing drive that it used to kick a field goal and go up by 10 points with less than two minutes remaining.

FUMBLE! BEARS BALL!

CHIvsWAS on ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/l6Ps1NW7Kj

— NFL (@NFL) October 14, 2025

Just like Buffalo, the Commanders were felled by a botched handoff at the worst time. Washington was in great shape with 3rd and 1 on the Chicago 40-yard line. With another first down, it would get to run more time off the clock and move into field goal range, where the team could have run the clock out completely or kicked a field goal to put Chicago in a deeper hole. Instead, Jayden Daniels had the ball slip out of his hand as he attempted to give it to Jacory Croskey-Merritt, and Chicago’s Nashon Wright fell on it to set up his team with a game-winning field goal drive.

It was Washington’s first turnover since the first quarter, when Daniels threw an interception and Croskey-Merritt lost a fumble while the Bears built a 13-0 lead. Daniels and the Commanders took control of the game after that, though, and went on a 24-3 run that culminated with a touchdown pass to Zach Ertz early in the fourth quarter. Chicago answered on the next possession when D’Andre Swift turned a four-yard out route into a 55-yard touchdown reception by running past two Washington defenders. The Bears missed the two-point try and trailed 24-22 until the handoff snafu set up Jake Moody’s field goal with no time remaining.

You can excuse me for thinking that the Brewers are a team of destiny after they turned a double play on a ball drilled by Max Muncy off of center fielder Sal Frelick’s glove and the center field wall. There was some confusion over whether the ball was caught on the fly or not, and that made Teoscar Hernandez hesitate enough for the Brewers to force him out at home on a relay from Frelick to Joey Ortiz to catcher Williams Contreras. If that wasn’t amazing enough, Will Smith stayed put at second base, allowing Contreras to job down to third base to force him out as well.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!?!?! #NLCS pic.twitter.com/x7BbmJ6hzX

— MLB (@MLB) October 14, 2025

That is horrible base running from the Dodgers and also a good job by the umpires to get the play right without assistance from instant replay. How could Los Angeles survive such a horrible twist of fate? Well, it turns out Blake Snell was doing a fine Sandy Koufax impression on the mound. He struck out 10 batters in eight innings and the only batter that reached base against him was Caleb Durbin on a leadoff single in the third inning. Durbin ended up getting picked off, so Snell faced just the minimum 24 batters during his masterclass performance.

Poor Dave Roberts couldn’t resist making this game exciting even though he had a beautiful pitching performance in front of him. The Dodgers manager took Snell out of the game with a 2-0 lead so that Roki Sasaki could try to finish the game in the ninth. Sasaki has been a reliable closer for Los Angeles in the Postseason, but after retiring Durbin on a pop-up, he walked Isaac Collins and allowed Jake Bauers to smash a ground-rule double to center field. Jackson Chourio also hit the ball hard to center, but this one was run down by Andy Pages for a sac fly that scored one run and moved the tying run to third base. It would stay there, but only after Blake Treinen came on and struck out Brice Turang with the winning run in scoring position.

What do these big league managers think will happen if they leave in their starting pitchers past 100 pitches? Snell was only at 103 when he was pulled, and the Dodgers almost blew the game as a result. It’s not as though Snell had been through a stressful inning, either. The babying of pitches was frustrating in the regular season, but it is unbelievable now that it is still happening in Game 1 of the NLCS.

Earlier in the evening, the Mariners smashed the Blue Jays 10-3 to take a 2-0 lead in the ALCS as it heads to the United States. This one looked like it would be tight when Toronto answered Julio Rodriguez’s three-run home run in the first inning with a pair of RBI singles in the bottom of the frame and one more in the second inning to tie the game. However, Jorge Polanco put Seattle back in front in the fifth with a three-run blast off of Toronto reliever Louis Varland. Polanco has been a Canada killer with a pair of RBI singles in Game 1 followed by the go-ahead knock in this one.

The Mariners kept pouring on runs in the sixth and the seventh with two driven in by J.P. Crawford and two more on a home run by Josh Naylor. Meanwhile, the Seattle bullpen let up just one hit after Logan Gilbert left the game at the start of the fourth inning. The Seattle crowd should be wild in Game 3 with the franchise two wins away from claiming its first American League pennant.

College football made me miserable on Saturday, so it was nice for the New York Rangers show up and blast the Penguins 6-1 on the road to avenge the 3-0 loss that Pittsburgh handed us on opening night. The Rangers got a nice variety of goals with Mike Zibanejad getting the scoring started with a shorthanded tally and Adam Fox adding an even-strength score after Ben Kindel evened the game up for the Pens. Then, Will Cuylle scored a power play goal on a great feed from Conor Sheary to make the score 3-1 midway through the second period.

Carrick with the feed + Mika does his thing for the shorty. pic.twitter.com/SA0lI0pvd0

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 11, 2025

The Rangers added a second power play goal with Fox’s second score of the night to take a three-goal lead into the third period. Adam Edstrom helped New York pour on another goal by shooting the puck past Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs after Sam Carrick set him up with an aggressive drive to the net. However, the goal was credited to Matt Rempe because the puck bounced off of him after he was checked into the crease by Ryan Shea. Eight minutes later, Taylor Raddysh wrapped up the scoring by taking advantage of a brilliant backhanded feed from rookie forward Noah Laba.

Unfortunately, the good vibes for the Rangers did not last long because they were back in action on Sunday night against Washington and they suffered their second straight shutout defeat at home. That means that New York has still not scored a goal at Madison Square Garden despite being on the ice for 120 minutes. The Rangers put 35 shots on net and had plenty of great opportunities, but Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped all of them and Anthony Beauvillier’s second period goal stood up as the only score of the game.

In baseball, the Brewers hit three solo home runs to defeat the Cubs in Game 5 of the NLDS and move on to the Championship Series. William Contreras went deep off of Drew Pomeranz in the bottom of the first, but that was answered by Seiya Suzuki hitting a solo shot of his own off of Jacob Misiorowski in the top of the second. Chicago wouldn’t get a lot of offense after that, though. After Andrew Vaughn hit a home run to give Milwaukee the lead in the fourth, the Cubs’ best chance came in the sixth when Michael Busch and Nico Hoerner reached base with no outs, but Aaron Ashby recovered by striking out Kyle Tucker and then Chad Patrick came on to retire Suzuki and Ian Happ to end the threat.

The Cubs would not get another hit for the rest of the game and the Brewers won 3-1 with Abner Uribe recording the final six outs. Milwaukee gets to stay at home and take on the Dodgers in Game 1 of the NLCS on Monday night.

CAL RALEIGH CONNECTS! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/obubngM6fq

— MLB (@MLB) October 13, 2025

In the American League, Seattle survived a leadoff home run by George Springer and won Game 1 of the ALCS in Toronto by the score of 3-1. Mariners starter Bryce Miller pitched six innings and allowed only one more hit after Springer’s blast. One run was almost enough to win the game for the Blue Jays, but Seattle scored twice in the sixth despite Kevin Gausman retiring the first two batters of the inning. Cal Raleigh evened the score with a solo shot before Julio Rodriguez walked to get Gausman out of the game. Rodriguez then stole second off of reliever Brendon Little and scored on Jorge Polanco’s single. Polanco hit another RBI single in the eighth, but the Mariners didn’t need it since their bullpen finished the game with three perfect innings on just 24 pitches.

We’ll see if the Blue Jays can bounce back in Game 2 on Monday evening or if the Mariners can take another step towards their first ever World Series appearance.

I really wanted to believe that Penn State hit rock bottom when it lost to 0-4 UCLA last Saturday, but now I see that the abyss goes deeper than I could have imagined. That’s because Penn State lost for the second straight week as a favorite of more than 20 points. This time the unthinkable defeat came at home against Northwestern, 22-21.

After a muffed punt by Penn State led to a Northwestern field goal and a 16-14 lead for the Wildcats, the Nittany Lions appeared to regain control of the game early in the fourth quarter when Devonte Ross turned a shallow cross into more than 50 yards after the catch for a 67-yard gain. Kaytron Allen followed with an 18-yard run to set up Drew Allar’s one-yard end zone plunge that gave Penn State a 21-16 advantage. Now all we needed was for the defense to do what it had done for most of the second half and keep the Wildcats out of the end zone.

DEFENSE GETS OFF THE FIELD 🔥 pic.twitter.com/eVeJThHcYP

— Northwestern Football (@NUFBFamily) October 11, 2025

Of course, that did not happen. Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone found Griffin Wilde for three key first down completions to move the Wildcats down the field and Caleb Komolafe finished the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run to put his team back in front. Penn State stopped the two-point try and had plenty of chance to respond, but Allar was injured while trying to scramble on 3rd and 4. On the next play, Ethan Grunkemeyer also tried to scramble for the first down, but he was stuffed to end Penn State’s hope of a comeback.

After the game, we learned that Drew Allar will miss the rest of the season due to the injury he suffered on that final drive. It’s probably best for the program that Grunkemeyer gets an extended look with the College Football Playoff out of reach, but who knows what the roster will look like next year with James Franklin’s job status in doubt? He deserves to be fired because of his team underperforming drastically when expectations were at their highest. However, due to Franklin’s buyout that costs almost $50 million, letting him go at this point is a huge financial undertaking.

If Penn State changes coaches, it will be tough to put a roster together without the transfer portal, and without $50 million, it’s hard to attract players in the transfer portal. It’s not a great situation.

The one thing that drove me craziest while doom scrolling after the loss was fans treating Drew Allar like he was let down by Penn State. I feel bad for Allar because of how his college career is ending and because he is injured, but acting like he didn’t have his destiny in his own hands is ridiculous. Allar played with an incredible tight end in Tyler Warren last year and two great tailbacks. He had the ball in his hands in the national semifinal with a chance to drive his team to victory, and he threw a horrible interception. Allar is just as much of a disappointment as anyone else involved with the Penn State program. The program didn’t fail him. He failed alongside the program.

Enough with the “he deserved better, PSU failed him” BS. National semifinal. Lead in the fourth quarter. Had the ball with a chance to win. Threw an interception. He failed along with everyone else in the program. https://t.co/B0VTPWklrX

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) October 12, 2025

This year, Penn State went into the transfer portal and dug up three talented wide receivers for Allar to throw to. He had the ball in his hands with a chance to complete an epic comeback victory against Oregon, and he threw another awful interception. It sucks, but he’s just not that good. Penn State will try to end its three-game losing streak and earn its first Big Ten win of the season at Iowa next week.

So how about that ALDS marathon on Friday night between the Tigers and Mariners? Seattle is headed to its first ALCS in 24 years where it will battle for its first ever American League pennant thanks to Jorge Polanco’s walk-off single in the bottom of the 15th off of Tommy Kahnle. It was a classic game, but it was also a game affected by the babying of pitchers that has become too normal in today’s game.

JORGE POLANCO WINS IT IN THE 15TH INNING!

THE @MARINERS ARE HEADING TO THE ALCS!!! pic.twitter.com/IEb6DLrHaY

— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2025

First, Seattle skipper Dan Wilson took George Kirby out of the game after five shutout innings and 66 pitches because he allowed a leadoff double in the sixth to Javier Baez. The next batter, Kerry Carpenter has five career home runs off of Kirby, with the fifth coming in Game 1 of this series. Maybe an aggressive pull like that is okay when the batter is so dominant against the starting pitcher, but in this case it wasn’t because Carpenter ended up hitting a home run anyway off of reliever Gabe Speier.

KERRY CARPENTER GIVES THE @TIGERS THE LEAD! #ALDS pic.twitter.com/5RTVcgF2NA

— MLB (@MLB) October 11, 2025

With Tarik Skubal being his usual excellent self on the mound for Detroit, Carpenter’s dinger could have lifted the team to victory, but AJ Hinch decided to lift Skubal even after his one-two-three shutdown inning in the bottom of the sixth that ended with a strikeout of AL MVP candidate Cal Raleigh. You see, Skubal was at 99 pitches, and he’s not used to throwing more than 105 or so. In the first inning without Skubal on the bump, Seattle tied the game with a pinch-hit single from Leo Rivas and Detroit won’t score again until next season. This is why you don’t baby pitchers in the regular season. They need to be prepared to dig deep in games like this one that decide destinies.

Can one game change the trajectory of a franchise? Giants fans like myself are hoping that last night’s 34-17 walloping of the Philadelphia Eagles was a turning point that will bring us back into the realm of Super Bowl contenders after spending years wandering in the wilderness of pro football. It’s not as though the Giants haven’t made the playoffs since Eli Manning retired after the 2019 season. The 2022 campaign had magical moments that provided hope for the future with Daniel Jones looking like he could be a long-term fixture at quarterback and Saquon Barkley rushing for over 1,300 yards. We even won a playoff game! The issue with 2022 was that the Giants went 0-5 against Philadelphia and Dallas, including being embarrassed by the Eagles 38-7 in the Divisional Round of the Playoffs.

Flash forward to 2025 and there is another promising young quarterback and exciting young running back in place. The Giants are still a longshot for the Playoffs with a brutal schedule ahead, so why should we feel hopeful now when we know that everything fell apart after 2022? There are two reasons. The first is that we just beat the defending Super Bowl champs by 17 points. The second is that Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo are absolute animals.

Cam Skattebo's highlights from a 98-yard, 3 TD night 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6ZfaQiRp07

— NFL (@NFL) October 10, 2025

This is going to sound like sour grapes, but I’ve been saying this since Barkley’s college days. He is an unbelievable athlete, but he doesn’t have the physicality I prefer to see in a lead back. He’s a boom-or-bust guy who tries to turn every play into a home run and he doesn’t embrace contact like the battering ram that is Skattebo. Barkley can change a game with one big play, but when that big play doesn’t come, he’s pretty ordinary. Last year, Barkley was hitting a home run once a game. This year, his longest run is 18 yards and that came in the first quarter of last night’s game.

Skattebo reminds me of guys that the Giants have won with. He’s Otis Anderson, Brandon Jacobs, and Ahmad Bradshaw. He just loves mauling dudes and you could tell on Thursday that the Eagles did not want to tackle him. His style might not lend itself to longevity, but he can be a major factor in a game that is played 10 yards at a time. Skattebo is also an intensity machine who will not let his team take a week off.

Now let’s get to Dart. He still holds the ball too long and puts himself in danger of taking damaging sacks that can put the offense behind schedule. However, we also saw some precision from him that was very encouraging. Even when the first read wasn’t there, Dart quickly went through his progressions and found the open man.

Jaxson Dart stood tall in the pocket and delivered to Theo Johnson in the face of pressure.

Poise results in 22 yards for the #Giants offense pic.twitter.com/RBiuRVMRfW

— Nick Falato (@nickfalato) October 10, 2025

Just look at where he puts this ball to Theo Johnson with the pocket collapsing and nowhere to escape to. From the sideline angle, I thought he was throwing a reckless ball, but it couldn’t have been placed better. This accuracy and poise combined with Dart’s ability to improvise and scramble like he did on the Wan’Dale Robinson touchdown are why everyone is so excited about him. Plus, there are Dart’s intangibles, which we were already aware of from training camp. How Brian Daboll and Skattebo reacted to him going into the injury tent shows how important Dart is to the Giants already.

Speaking of the injury tent, something needs to be done about Russell Wilson. Until Dart learns how to slide, he is going to miss a few plays per game at least. We can’t have Wilson coming into a big situation and spiking the ball like he did last night. If Wilson is not going to be ready to play, the Giants have to move on from him early and make Jameis Winston the backup.

Big Blue’s defense left a lot to be desired. It’s hard to complain about zero points allowed in the second half, but I will try. It was great to see Brian Burns get to Jalen Hurts twice, but the pass rush was dominated by Philly’s offensive line on other occasions. We also could not figure out Dallas Goedert for the entire game. He caught nine of his 11 targets for 110 yards and a score. The good news is that the Giants handled Hurts’ other targets pretty well (although let’s not forget Hurts missing DeVonta Smith for what could have been a very long touchdown pass) and came up big on third down. They also found the biggest play of the game when it looked like the Eagles were mounting a fourth quarter comeback.

FLOTTTT PICK OMG!!!!!

📺: PRIME VIDEO pic.twitter.com/tRd2dYq5Hr

— New York Giants (@Giants) October 10, 2025

Cor’Dale Flott’s interception and 68-yard return were a major momentum swing, and the Giants might not have emerged victorious without it. Even better was that New York didn’t settle for a field goal that would have kept Philly within two scores. Instead, Dart through a perfect ball to Jalin Hyatt to draw a pass interference flag. Skattebo plowed into the end zone for his third touchdown of the night on the next play to put the Giants ahead by 17.

What a win for the New York Football Giants. We owed Philadelphia a beatdown, and the debt is still not repaid. There is still a lot of work to do if this team is to get into the playoff hunt. Let’s see if they can pull of their first road win of the season a week from Sunday in Denver.

Thursday night was also exciting for baseball fans with the Phillies and Dodgers dueling from daylight to nightfall in Los Angeles. Christopher Sanchez and Tyler Glasnow were both excellent, and no one scored until the seventh inning when Nick Castellanos doubled down the left field line off of Emmet Sheehan to score Max Kepler from second base. Sheehan has now allowed at least one run in all three of his Postseason appearances after being as reliable as they come during the regular season.

Castellanos’ clutch moment gave Philly fans hope of sending the series back to Citizens Bank Park, but the Dodgers struck back in the bottom of the seventh starting with a walk to Alex Call that followed a controversial ball three call on a 2-2 count. Instead of striking out, Call reached first base and the Dodgers loaded the bases with two outs. Then they found the equalizer when Mookie Betts was walked by Jhoan Duran. Duran struck out Teoscar Hernandez to leave the game tied, and not another batter reached base for either side until the top of the 11th when Bryce Harper was walked by Alex Vesia and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Vesia escaped by striking out Harrison Bader to set the stage for the Dodgers to win the game in the bottom of the inning.

After Max Muncy hit a two-out single to move Tommy Edman to third base, the Phillies brought in Orion Kerkering to replace Jesus Luzardo and deal with Kike Hernandez. Kerkering walked Hernandez to bring Andy Pages to the plate, and he could only muster a comebacker that was knocked down by Kerkering, but then chaos ensued.

THE @DODGERS WALK IT OFF AND ARE #NLCS BOUND! pic.twitter.com/7GKwsscWkZ

— MLB (@MLB) October 10, 2025

Even though he didn’t field the ball cleanly, Kerkering seemed to have plenty of time to throw to first for the final out of the inning. There was no play to be had at home, even with an accurate throw. I can only guess that he forgot how many outs there were and thought he needed to cut down the winning run at the plate. After the game, Rob Thomson said that Kerkering “got caught up in the moment.”

The Dodgers still don’t know who they’ll face in the NLCS because the Cubs crushed the Brewers 6-0 to force a Game 5 on Saturday night. Just like with Game 4, the winning recipe for Chicago was a crooked number in the first inning and the magnificent bullpen. Ian Happ electrified Wrigley Field with a three-run blast in the first and Matthew Boyd allowed just two hits and three walks in four and two thirds innings.

Milwaukee had its big chance to put a dent in Chicago’s lead in the fifth when Sal Frelick led off with a double and Blake Perkins walked, but after Joey Ortiz bunted, Boyd struck out Christian Yelich on an inside fastball. Danny Palencia then came in to end the threat on a Jackson Chourio pop-up. You have to wonder what Pat Murphy was thinking with the Ortiz bunt when Milwaukee trailed by three runs. The Brewers wouldn’t put another runner in scoring position for the rest of the game.

As if the Giants beating the Eagles and watching the Phillies eliminate themselves in heartbreaking fashion wasn’t great enough, the New York Rangers also won a game last night. They shut out the Sabres 4-0 with goals from Alexis Lafreniere, Carson Soucy, J.T. Miller, and Adam Fox (empty net). The season is only a few days old, but it felt like a much-needed result after New York failed to score against Pittsburgh in the opener. Now, revenge on the Penguins could be right around the corner with the Rangers visiting the Steel City on Saturday night.

Just in case I was getting tired of winning, Penn State lost a hockey game to Clarkson despite a program-record four goals from JJ Wiebusch. The Nittany Lions went up 4-2 midway through the second period, but let up four goals in a row to fall 6-4. Gavin McKenna had a pair of assists for PSU and Adrian Misaljevic scored twice for Clarkson, including the go-ahead goal midway through the third period. Penn State will hopefully respond with a victory when the teams face off again tonight.

Make sure you hug your favorite Yankees fan today. There was a chance for all four MLB Division Series to end on Wednesday, but the only one that did featured the Pinstripes playing at home with Cam Schlittler going against Toronto’s bullpen. Schlittler wasn’t as amazing as he was in Game 3 of the Wild Card series against Boston, but he was still pretty solid with just two runs allowed in six and one third innings. He just wasn’t a sharp as the group of eight Blue Jays relief pitchers that held New York to two runs in nine innings. The first run came on a Ryan McMahon solo shot in the third inning off of Mason Fluharty that tied the score at 1-1. The Yankees didn’t score again until Aaron Judge singled off of Jeff Hoffman in the ninth to drive in Jasson Dominguez. However, the next batter Cody Bellinger struck out to end the game with Toronto on top 5-2.

Toronto got to Schlittler early when George Springer led off the game with a double and was driven in on Vladmir Guerrero Jr.’s single. The Blue Jays wasted an Addison Barger leadoff double in the fourth, but struck again in the fifth when Ernie Clement and Andre Gimenez hit back-to-back singles and Springer followed with a sac fly. Clement got Toronto’s offense started again when he singled with one out in the seventh, and then Jazz Chisholm botched a potential double play ground ball to set up a clutch two-RBI single by Nathan Lukes.

Nathan for You

Nathan Lukes delivers a clutch 2-run single in the 7th! pic.twitter.com/cIvnwP7ExS

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025

That made the score 4-1, and Toronto would add another in the eighth when Myles Straw drove in Alejandro Kirk following his leadoff double. The Yankees loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom of the frame, but Austin Wells was retired on a routine fly ball to left off of Hoffman’s first pitch to him.

We were so close to having the Yankees and Phillies eliminated in the same night. It seemed like a possibility when Tommy Edman homered off of Ranger Suarez in the top of the third inning in Los Angeles, but Suarez ended up pitching five innings without allowing another run while the Philadelphia offense responded immediately and took the lead in the top of the fourth. Kyle Schwarber set the tone with a massive solo tank off of Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

KYLE SCHWARBER ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

This ball may not have landed yet 🤯 pic.twitter.com/xIAPc4r59W

— MLB (@MLB) October 9, 2025

The Phillies went on two score two more runs in the frame thanks to singles by Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm as well as a throwing error from Andy Pages and a sac fly by Brandon Marsh. Philadelphia blew big opportunities to extend their 3-1 lead in the fifth and the seventh, but it didn’t matter because Suarez held down the fort until the visitors finally broke through for five runs in the eighth off of Clayton Kershaw, adding to the future Hall of Famer’s postseason struggles. The Phillies won 8-2 to force a Game 4 tonight at Chavez Ravine. I would encourage the Dodgers to not let this series return to the City of Brotherly Love.

Just like Philadelphia, the Cubs went down 1-0 but then rallied to force a Game 4. Pete Crow-Armstrong drove in a pair of runs during Chicago’s four-run splurge in the first. Even thought the Cubs didn’t score again for the rest of the game, they still held on for the 4-3 win thanks to another great bullpen effort. Five relievers combined to allow just one run over five innings after Jameson Taillon left the game. If the Cubs can win once more at the Friendly Confines, they’ll force a Game 5 in Milwaukee on Saturday.

Over in the American League, the Tigers won a massive Game 4 at home to ensure that Tarik Skubal gets at least one more start this season. He’ll take the bump in Game 5 at Seattle thanks to Detroit overcoming a three-run deficit and defeating the Mariners 9-3 on Wednesday. Seattle’s Bryce Miller got off to a good start on the mound and the team took a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, but it could have been more since one of those runs scored when Victor Robles grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, Dillon Gingler chased Miller from the game with an RBI double before Jahmai Jones and Javier Baez notched RBI hits off of southpaw Gabe Speier.

In the next inning, Riley Greene homered off of Speier to give Detroit its first lead. The Tigers then scored three runs off of Eduard Bazardo with the last two coming on a two-run blast by Javier Baez. The four-run rally allowed Detroit to cruise to victory and Baez ended the day with four RBI.

We’ve got a wild sports night ahead of us. Not only are the Phillies and Cubs trying to stave off elimination, but the Giants are hosting the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. That’s probably good news for MLB since the Giants are quite shallow at wide receiver with Darius Slayton missing the game and Malik Nabers out for the season. The Eagles have a chance to get the sour taste of losing out of their mouths after they blew a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter against Denver on Sunday. New York is a ripe target after losing in New Orleans. Maybe that loss doesn’t happen without the Giants turning the ball over five times in a row, but there is still a talent gap to worry about. If we are going to pull of the upset, we need to protect the ball, get some big plays from Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson in the passing game, and force Jalen Hurts to throw the ball.

There are also 14 NHL games on the slate with the Rangers, Islanders, and Devils all in action. The Rangers are slight favorites in Buffalo after getting shut out by Pittsburgh two nights ago at Madison Square Garden. Hopefully the Penguins will be just as tough when they host the Islanders tonight. Meanwhile, New Jersey is at Carolina to face the team that ended its last two playoff runs.

And don’t forget college hockey! Gavin McKenna and Penn State get Clarkson in the home opener tonight. Anyway, here are my NFL picks for this week.

Eagles at Giants +6.5

Eagles coming off a loss should hammer the Giants. This isn’t a homer pick, it’s a sharp pick. Public will be all over Philly.

Broncos at Jets +7.5

The Jets were not feisty at home last week against Dallas, but I think they will have an easier time with Denver’s offense and stay inside the number.

Cardinals at Colts -6.5

The Colts destroy bad teams. Jonathan Gannon apologizing after he chewed out his player for inexcusably dropping the ball is very soft and a sign that the inmates are running the asylum in Arizona.

Chargers -4.5 at Dolphins

I am thinking that the Bolts will bounce back after dropping two straight to NFC East opponents.

Browns +4.5 at Steelers

The Browns showed fight in England and I am loving what I see with Quinshon Judkins. He is a horse.

Cowboys -3.5 at Panthers

The Boys easily covered for me against the Jets, so I am sticking with them to take care of business on the road again.

Seahawks -1.5 at Jaguars

Letdown spot for the Jaguars after they used a pick six to flip their fate against the Chiefs.

Rams -7.5 at Ravens

Are the Ravens really this bad? Have to fade them after they burned me last week.

Patriots at Saints +3.5

I told you the Saints are tough at home! I also picked the Giants last week, but that was mostly a homer pick.

Titans +4.5 at Raiders

Tennessee’s win in Arizona was a total fluke, but it will still raise the vibes of that team. Plus, the Raiders shouldn’t be laying points to anyone.

49ers at Buccaneers -2.5

This should be another thrilling Buccaneers game that Baker Mayfield finds a way to win at the end.

Bengals +14.5 at Packers

Too many points! Even though the Bengals lost their last three games by a combined 76 points!

Lions at Chiefs -1.5

Detroit has returned to form since its disappointing Week1 loss, but it has only played Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Arrowhead at night will be a different story.

Bills -3.5 at Falcons

This is a very square pick, but it’s going to take more than one win over Washington to wipe Atlanta’s 30-0 loss to Carolina from my mind.

Bears at Commanders -4.5

Washington has already clobbered the Giants and Raiders by double digits at home. Chicago isn’t much better.

It was fun listening to Yankees fans complain about Aaron Judge’s failures in clutch situations during October. It was hard to believe that such a dominant player could play so poorly in the Postseason, but the expectations are high when you play for the same franchise as Mr. October and Mr. November. All good things must come to an end, though, and on Tuesday night, Judge finally came through with a massive home run to save the Yankees from elimination.

AARON JUDGE OFF THE FOUL POLE!

TIE GAME!!! #ALDS pic.twitter.com/rplPnEsRoH

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2025

It was only a matter of time before Judge finally did something incredible during October, but what made his game-tying laser beam especially wild was that it came on a 100 mph 0-2 fastball that was off the plate inside. I have no idea how this man turned on this pitch and somehow kept it fair. If you look at the count, the velocity, and the location, it’s one of the craziest home runs ever hit.

This season, there have been 528 pitches on 0-2 counts, thrown out of the zone, at 99 MPH or above.

Aaron Judge tonight is the first player to hit one of those out for a home run. 🤯

🔊 @Ken_Rosenthal pic.twitter.com/UQBS2CI9wT

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 8, 2025

Judge is well on his way to living up to Derek Jeter’s legacy of the media kissing his rear end every fall. Before the heroics, the Yankees appeared done for. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run in the first inning to put Toronto on top, and a string of singles in the third inning plated four more runs and chased Carlos Rodon from the ballgame. The Yankees began their rise in the bottom of the frame with Judge hitting an RBI double and Giancarlo Stanton following with a sac fly. After Judge tied the game in the fourth, Jazz Chisholm hit a monster solo shot in the fifth to give New York the lead, and Austin Wells followed with an RBI single to make it three straight crooked numbers for the Yankees.

The Blue Jays might end up kicking themselves for letting the Yankees off the ropes. Cam Schlittler is back on the bump tonight for the first time since his Wild Card masterpiece. It’s no wonder why New York is a -185 favorite tonight.

The other Wild Card game on Tuesday saw another AL MVP candidate hit a home run while the Mariners cruised to victory behind a strong Logan Gilbert start and retook homefield advantage from the Tigers.

🍑 BIG DUMPER #POSTSEASON HOMER 🍑#ALDS pic.twitter.com/HUzynv9Xpf

— MLB (@MLB) October 8, 2025

Cal Raleigh’s home run wasn’t as clutch as Judge’s, but you know who was clutch? The guy who caught the home run after it bounced in the bullpen.

A fan wearing a Dump here shirt just caught Cal Raleigh’s home run

Dudes rock pic.twitter.com/l5r3TIVoH6

— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) October 8, 2025

Gilbert AKA Walter allowed just one run on four hits in six innings and left with a 5-1 lead thanks to Seattle scoring two runs each in the third and fourth innings off of Detroit start Jack Flaherty. The Mariners have a chance to advance to the ALCS with another win this afternoon. All four Division Series are in action today, with the Brewers, Blue Jays, and Dodgers also having a shot to move on.

I’m glad there is so much baseball on, because the start of NHL season was miserable for me. The Rangers allowed Pittsburgh’s Justin Brazeau to score late in the first period and never found an answer. The Penguins ended up winning 3-0 with a pair of late empty-net goals and Latvian goalie Arturs Silovs stopped all 25 New York shots for his first career shutout.

What is it with the Dodgers and the eighth inning in October? Los Angeles might be 4-0 in postseason play, but every eighth inning it gives the opponent a chance to come back. Twice against the Reds, the Dodgers allowed a crooked number in the eighth inning to give Cincinnati hope of overcoming a seemingly impossible deficit. In Game 1 in Philadelphia, the home team loaded the bases in the eighth and put the tying run on second base before Alex Vesia came in from the bullpen and got Edmundo Sosa to fly out.

Once again in NLDS Game 2, trouble struck the Dodgers in the eighth inning. The boys in blue were leading 4-0 thanks to a seventh inning rally that featured RBI singles from Will Smith and Shohei Ohtani, but Emmet Sheehan allowed a one-out triple down the right field line by Max Kepler to wake the Phillies up. Kepler scored on Trea Turner’s single, but Sheehan retired Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper to escape further trouble.

The real danger for the Dodgers this time around came in the ninth, and it came because Dave Roberts decided to insert Blake Treinen into the save situation rather than Roki Sasaki, who had closed out Game 2 of the Wild Card and Game 1 of the NLDS with little trouble. Treinen, on the other hand, was coming off a September in which he allowed 10 earned runs (12 total) in nine and one third innings. It was a surprise to probably no one except Roberts that Treinen started the ninth by allowing three straight hits, the last of which was a double that Nick Castellanos hooked down the left field line to score a pair of runs and put the tying run in scoring position.

A perfectly executed wheel play. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/aVRONlLEtP

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) October 7, 2025

Still, Roberts would not go to Sasaki. He had to risk the game with Vesia first. Fortunately for the Dodgers, Roberts was not the only lousy manager that evening. Philadelphia’s Rob Thomson asked Bryson Stott to bunt. Not only did that eliminate the chance of the winning run reaching base, but it allowed Max Muncy to field the ball on the left side of the infield and throw to Mookie Betts, who tagged out Castellanos at third. So much for the tying run being in scoring position.

The Dodgers weren’t out of the woods yet, though. The three-batter-minimum rule meant that Vesia had to stay on the mound and pitch to the right-handed Harrison Bader. He ripped a single into left field to reignite Philadelphia’s rally and put Stott into scoring position. Stott then reached third on Mex Kepler’s ground out before Sasaki finally entered the game and retired Trea Turner on a ground ball to second base to end the game. Los Angeles had to make the game as dramatic as possible, so Tommy Edman spiked the throw to first, forcing Freddie Freeman to make a remarkable pick at first in order to avoid a terrible collapse.

Jackson Chourio THREE-RUN HOMER

All seven @Brewers runs have come via home runs! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/wVJnG0qsVi

— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2025

Thanks to Roberts finally putting the correct pitcher in the game, the Phillies are down 0-2 against a Dodgers team that appears to be back in championship form. Elsewhere in Monday night Senior Circuit action, the Brewers held serve against the Cubs and pushed them into an 0-2 hole thanks to home runs by Andrew Vaughn, William Contreras, and Jackson Chourio. Chicago jumped out on top in the first when Seiya Suzuki hit a three-run shot off of Aaron Ashby, but Vaughn came back to a three-run job of his own in the bottom of the frame. The Cubs wouldn’t score again off of Milwaukee’s seven pitchers with Jacob Misiorowski doing the most work with three innings and 57 pitches. Chourio’s three-run bomb in the fourth inning put the game out of reach and the Brewers won 7-3.

Lawrence to Thomas Jr. for 33 yards!

KCvsJAX on ESPN/ABC
Stream on @NFLPlus and ESPN App pic.twitter.com/v0Sj6ufjvO

— NFL (@NFL) October 7, 2025

There was also a big football game on Monday night with Jacksonville upsetting Kansas City 31-28. Trevor Lawrence ran for two scores, including the game-winner in the final minute after tripping over his own offensive lineman. With just 23 seconds left on the clock, the Chiefs were unable to respond. Perhaps the most impressive play Lawrence made on the night was his 33-yard dime to Brian Thomas Jr. to convert a 3rd and 7 on Jacksonville’s final drive. Kansas City might have come away with the win if not for a shocking pick six thrown by Patrick Mahomes to Devin Lloyd that turned a potential 21-14 Chiefs lead into a 21-14 Jaguars lead late in the third quarter.

Jacksonville looks to be a real threat in the AFC after upsetting San Francisco and Kansas City in consecutive weeks. Meanwhile, the Chiefs still have some work to do after two straight win to turn around their 0-2 start. They have to beat Detroit on Sunday in order to get back to a .500 record.

Today we get to see the Detroit Tigers play their first home Postseason game since defeating Cleveland in the Wild Card and stealing homefield advantage from Seattle. After that, the Blue Jays have a chance to send the Yankees packing and complete a three-game sweep in the Bronx. The NHL is also beginning its regular season with a tripleheader. Should be a thrilling evening.

It was really frustrating being a Giants fan on Sunday. Jaxson Dart led Big Blue on touchdown drives during the team’s first two possessions to take 14-3 lead, and it looked like we might be building some momentum ahead of Thursday night’s battle against Philadelphia. Instead of cruising to victory, though, the Giants turned the ball over five times in a row while New Orleans capitalized with 23 unanswered points to get its first win of the season, 26-14.

It’s tough for the Giants to hit on the big play with Malik Nabers missing the rest of season due to a knee injury, but Dart and company were still able to move the ball up and down the field well enough to beat a team like the Saints. The defense even helped out by limiting New Orleans to one offensive touchdown on an 87-yard pass from Spencer Rattler to Rashid Shaheed. The problem was that the Saints got a defensive touchdown when Cam Skattebo fumbled on the first play of the fourth quarter with the Giants threatening in the Red Zone. The ball popped out at the perfect spot for Jordan Howden to scoot 86 yards for the score, and the Giants’ best chance of retaking the lead was wiped out.

Cam Skattebo fumbles in the redzone, Saints scoop-and-score!pic.twitter.com/4W3uhklsmZ

— Underdog NFL (@UnderdogNFL) October 5, 2025

New York was looking for the lead before halftime when Darius Slayton caught a pass in Saints territory and then coughed it up for the first turnover of the day. Dart also lost a fumble in the third quarter without being touched by the defense. The final two turnovers were Dart passes that were intercepted by Kool-Aid McKinstry. I thought the first one Dart tried to force into a tight window, but the second was because Beaux Collins broke off his route too early. That’s something that can’t happen on a team that might have the worst wide receiver pool in the league without Nabers. 16 of Dart’s 26 completions were received by tight ends Daniel Bellinger and Theo Johnson as well as Skattebo. Wan’Dale Robinson caught five passes on seven targets, but he only gained 30 yards on them.

The Giants have a chance against the Eagles on Thursday if they can avoid turnovers and keep Philly out of the end zone, but that is a tough ask against one of the league’s best teams. It just feels like the Giants gave away a winnable game on Sunday. It probably goes the other way if the Giants just hang onto the football.

To help us feel better about the Giants, here are some teams that had it even worse than us on Sunday.

Las Vegas Raiders: They were destroyed 40-6 at Indianapolis and have lost four in a row since their season-opening win at New England. It looks like it is time to write Geno Smith off again since he has nine interceptions already.

New York Jets: We can always count on the Jets to somehow be more embarrassing. They surprisingly closed as a favorite over Dallas before getting blown out 37-22 in a huge victory for square bettors and bandwagon New Jersey Cowboys fans. This game was 30-6 after three quarters.

Arizona Cardinals: The Cardinals were leading the woeful Titans 21-6 early in the fourth quarter when Emari Demercado burst up the middle and into daylight. It appeared to be a 72-yard touchdown run to put the game out of reach, but Demercado let go of the ball inches before he crossed the goal line, resulting in a touchback. The game should have ended again later in the fourth quarter when Cam Ward threw an interception to Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, only to have him fumble the ball away and get recovered by Tennessee’s Tyler Lockett in the end zone for a touchdown. The wild play helped the Titans score 16 straight points for a comeback win. I don’t know how you live with yourself as a Cardinals fan. This is one of the most brutal losses of all time.

Picked!
Fumbled!
Touchdown!

A WILD @TITANS TD! pic.twitter.com/o22RMgaghL

— NFL (@NFL) October 5, 2025

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins led 17-0 in the second quarter in Carolina, but lost 27-24 because Rico Dowdle ran for 206 yards and a touchdown. Just like the Giants blowing an 11-point lead to Rattler and the Saints, it took something extraordinary for Miami to allow a second-division team to come back. The Dolphins meanwhile, had 19 yards rushing for the day.

Baltimore Ravens: The Ravens are like the New York Mets because they came into the season with championship aspirations but are flaming out terribly. They had a chance to get their season back on track against Houston, but Cooper Rush threw three interception and Baltimore continued its shocking trend of being unable to run the ball with Derrick Henry. After rushing for 169 yards in the opener at Buffalo, the future Hall of Famer has just 148 yards on 46 carries in his last four games. The Ravens’ defense allowed a near perfect performance from C.J. Stroud en route to a 44-10 defeat.

New York Yankees: The hunt for the World Series was alive in the Bronx after the Bombers defeated Boston in the Wild Card series, but after dropping Game 1 of the ALDS 10-1 in Toronto, the Yankees fell behind 12-0 in Game 2 before losing 13-7. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a grand slam in the fourth inning and Trey Yesavage held the Yankees hitless for more than five innings while striking out 11 batters in just his fourth big league start.

Thank goodness for Gavin McKenna. That’s all I have to say after a very sad sports day. The phenom’s game-winning blast from the right circle to complete a second straight third period comeback for Penn State was a nice little pick-me-up, but it didn’t make up for the disaster that was Penn State football on Saturday.

FORKS DOWN!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/T4SiHDHh0t

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 5, 2025

The Nittany Lions lost 42-37 to a UCLA team that had never had the lead during its 0-4 start and had already fired its head coach DeShaun Foster. The Bruins played like they had nothing to lose and ambushed Penn State with an onside kick following their opening touchdown drive. That helped lead to UCLA holding a massive time of possession advantage in this game, but it was no excuse for Penn State acting like it had never seen a scrambling quarterback before. Nico Iamaleava rushed for 128 yards and three touchdowns on 16 carries while the Penn State defense was continually out of position to stop him. The edge rushers led by Dani Dennis-Sutton kept taking wide routes into the backfield, which made it easy for Iamaleava to escape. Once he was out of the pocket, he faced either no resistance from man defense or feeble resistance from zone defense with Penn State missing tackling opportunities.

"It's like watching Vince Young as he gets out of the pocket right here."

Gary Danielson with high praise for Nico Iamaleava. pic.twitter.com/wFrZYO8pH6

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) October 4, 2025

Penn State had opportunities to get back in this game, most notably when it blocked a punt and scooped up the ball in the end zone for a quick touchdown the score 27-21 midway through the third quarter. Every time Penn State got within a score, though, Iamaleava had the answer. Penn State finally had a chance to tie the score after stopping UCLA on fourth down with two minutes left in the game, but Drew Allar had his option with Trebor Pena running jet sweep action blown up by the UCLA defense on 4th and 2.

That fourth down failure pretty much ended the game, so I’m not going to get into how much Penn State botched UCLA’s final possession and allowed the Bruins to run several seconds off the clock before taking an intentional safety from punt formation. That was another example of poor coaching in this game.

I’ve defended James Franklin because even though he loses a lot of big games, he usually takes care of business as a favorite and puts Penn State in position for a Playoff berth in college football’s new landscape. However, I’m done defending this guy who will berate the refs at the end of a blowout over a cupcake and then punt from inside the 40-yard line against Oregon. Franklin’s bark is worse than his bite, and his bite isn’t worth anything if he is losing to an overmatched UCLA team. It’s time to move on. Franklin should stay in California and find someone to coach there.

And Jim Knowles can join him since he just confirmed himself as a sleeper cell for Ohio State with his inability to adjust to Iamaleava’s constant scrambling. Every time UCLA needed a first down, and it didn’t matter how long the yardage was, Iamaleava would just drop back, allow Penn State to fall out of position, and rush for the necessary yardage.

TEOSCAR HERNÁNDEZ!@DODGERS LEAD! #NLDS pic.twitter.com/XeygIPFj4t

— MLB (@MLB) October 5, 2025

Besides that magical shot from McKenna, the other good sports thing to happen on Saturday was the Phillies blowing Game 1 of the NLDS against the Dodgers. After falling behind 3-0 early, Los Angeles broke through for two runs against Christopher Sanchez in the sixth and set the table against David Robertson in the seventh before Teoscar Hernandez hit a three-run blast off of Matt Strahm to put his team in front. Earlier in the day, the Brewers and Blue Jays blew out the Cubs and Yankees, respectively. The night cap featured Detroit getting a huge win in extra innings in Seattle. The Tigers have a great chance to take a 2-0 series lead with Tarik Skubal on the hill tonight.

It’s easy for college hockey to get lost in the sauce when we’re overloaded by pro football, college football, and baseball at this time of year, but I couldn’t stay away from watching Gavin McKenna make his Penn State debut last night against Arizona State. It helped that MLB was taking the night off after all of the Game 3 drama on Thursday. McKenna handed out beautiful assists on the first two Penn State goals, but the real star of the game was Matt DiMarsico, who scored a natural hat trick in the third period to help bring the Nittany Lions back from a 3-2 deficit. DiMarsico slammed in the equalizer just over a minute into the final period and then gave Penn State the lead seven minutes later when he capitalized on a lovely feed from Charlie Cerrato, who led everyone with five points on the night. DiMarsico finished the hat trick with an empty-net goal after Cerrato gave the Lions a two-goal lead by scoring off his own rebound with two minutes remaining.

This line, man!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/lScahM9Ke8

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 4, 2025

McKenna might be the reason why Penn State’s two-game set at Arizona State is being shown on NHL Network, but the depth of scorers on this team will be the reason it contends for a national championship. Penn State goes for the sweep in Tempe tonight at 8:00 PM, but this time in will be in the middle of a loaded sports slate since Dodgers vs. Phillies should be wrapping up Game 1 of their series during that time while Miami and Florida State will just be getting started in their ACC showdown.

Fortunately for someone like me who wants to watch the college hockey, there’s not an extreme amount of action going on in college football’s prime time space. NBC has Minnesota visiting a heavily favored Ohio State and ESPN has Texas Tech visiting a Houston team that barely survived a trip to Corvallis last week.

The two most intriguing college football games of the day are in the 3:30 PM time slot with Vanderbilt visiting Alabama and Texas visiting Florida. In the former, we get to see how Kalen DeBoer’s team responds to its shocking upset at the hands of the Commodores from last year. Vanderbilt is undefeated with a big win at South Carolina, and Diego Pavis could get some serious Heisman Trophy buzz if he leads his team to another big upset over Alabama. Meanwhile, DeBoer cooled his hot seat a little by defeating Georgia last week, but he could get run out of town if he drops this one at home.

The Texas game is all about Arch Manning. He was awful in the opener at Ohio State and has only played three cupcakes since then. This is another major test for him against a Florida team that has already lost three games, albeit against stiff competition. If Florida quarterback DJ Lagway doesn’t improve on his five-interception performance at LSU and his 61-yard dud at Miami, the Gators could be looking for a new head coach. There will also be plenty of pressure on Manning to show improvement on his first real test since the opener.

When you add in the baseball with Milwaukee and Toronto trying to prove themselves as surprise contenders against established brands as well as Seattle beginning its hunt for a first ever AL pennant, you get a sports day that is stuffed with intrigue and hopefully beers.

Cam Schlittler is this newest Yankees postseason hero after his incredibly clutch performance to shut down the Red Sox and lead the Yankees to a 4-0 victory in Game 3 of their Wild Card series. It was Schlittler’s first ever postseason start, and he hadn’t gone longer than seven innings in any major league outing before, but that didn’t stop him from pitching eight shutout innings against Boston with 12 strikeouts and no walks.

All 12 Cam Schlittler strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/Ggi5njqbCf

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) October 3, 2025

The Yankees scored four runs in the fourth inning when Cody Bellinger set the table with a double and Amed Rosario, Jazz Chisholm Jr., and Anthony Volpe followed with consecutive singles. The Red Sox had a chance to get a double play and stop the bleeding with two runs in, but Austin Wells’ ground ball was botched by Nathaniel Lowe and two more runs came in. That proved to be more than enough with Schlittler channeling Roger Clemens, and the Bombers cruised to a series-clinching win.

I’m happy for Yankees fans who got a huge win over their archrival, but I’m also happy for Mets fans because we still have that Offseason Champions banner that no one can ever take away. For years, we told ourselves that if we just had Yankees money bankrolling our team’s baseball operation, we too could be world champions. Now that the Mets signed Juan Soto away from the Bronx, it’s time to admit that the Yankees are just a better run organization, no matter who the owner is. Over the past few years, Yankees fans have complained endlessly about how incompetent skipper Aaron Boone and general manager Brian Cashman are, but they still took their team to 94 wins and a Wild Card series victory in the season after losing Soto.

It’s not like Soto had a bad year for the Mets. Far from it. But he’s still only one man. The fate of the Mets and Yankees this year is another example of how depth is more important in baseball than any other sport. At the start of the season, it looked like the Mets had starting pitching depth, but it melted away over the summer like a popsicle while the Yankees still had Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, and Schlittler to rely on.

In other Wild Card elimination action, the Tigers got a huge tiebreaking home run from Dillon Dingler and rallied for four runs in the seventh inning to post a 6-3 victory at Cleveland and effectively erase their epic regular season collapse. I always thought that the Mets were destined to lose their 2022 Wild Card series to the Padres because of the way they fell apart in September and fumbled away the NL East title. It turns out that a little grit can reverse a team’s fortune very quickly in the Postseason. You have to give A.J. Hinch credit for not allowing his team to wallow in misery following a very disappointing September. The Tigers grinded out two wins in three days and have retaken their spot in the ALDS.

The Cubs didn’t have much of a chance to win their division this season, but they are also headed to a Division Series thanks to another low-scoring win over the Padres. Chicago loaded the bases in the second inning off of San Diego starter Yu Darvish and got a Pete Crow-Armstrong single and a Dansby Swanson walk to plate a pair of runs. The Padres put the tying run in scoring position in the fifth when Freddy Fermin doubled off of Danny Palencia, but Fernando Tatis Jr. harmlessly flew out to right, allowing the Chicago bullpen to flourish in a series that has been a battle of magnificent bullpens.

San Diego threated again in the ninth with Brad Keller allowing a solo shot to Jackson Merrill and then hitting both Ryan O’Hearn and Bryce Johnson with pitches, but Andrew Kittredge ended the threat to send the Cubs to Milwaukee for an NLDS battle with the little brother Brewers. Just like with Cleveland this year and Philadelphia last year, the division champ has most of the pressure in a series like this. Milwaukee was the better team all season, but that doesn’t matter much if it loses three games to Chicago. It will be fun to see if the champs can prove themselves in head-to-head baseball combat.

As if three do-or-die baseball games weren’t enough, there was also a thrilling NFL game on Thursday night, and it drove me insane. I had the Rams in my survivor pools and to cover the spread in pick ’em. That turned out to be a massive failure even though Los Angeles stormed back from a 20-7 third-quarter deficit and tied the score early in the fourth. It should have been a one-point lead for the Rams over the 49ers, but Josh Karty had his extra point blocked after Matthew Stafford found Kyren Williams for the eight-yard equalizing score.

Still, the Rams had all the momentum and the superior players. Surely they would find a way to pull this one out at home? Nope. Their defense stopped San Francisco on the Los Angeles 41-yard line, but Eddy Pineiro connected on a 59-yard field goal because no one ever misses a kick that long when I need them to. The Rams had three minutes to come back, and it looked like a certainty when they marched down to the three-yard line without even facing a second down, but Williams had the ball punched from his grasp by Alfred Collins as he plowed towards the end zone, and Collins fell on the ball as well for a game-changing turnover.

It would have been heartbreaking enough if that was the end of the game, but the Rams teased us again by stuffing the 49ers for a three-and-out while using three timeouts to keep 53 seconds on the clock. After a San Francisco punt to midfield, Stafford’s clutch pass to Williams on 4th and 3 set up Karty for the game-tying field goal that sent the game to overtime.

49ERS GET THE STOP! 49ERS WIN! pic.twitter.com/zw5Hvr25NS

— NFL (@NFL) October 3, 2025

The 49ers got the ball first and their offense was looking hot until the Rams finally sacked Mac Jones for the first time all game. Pineiro was good from 41 yards to give San Francisco the lead, but the Rams once again put themselves in position for the win when Stafford hit Tutu Atwell for 38 yards to the 20-yard line. Three plays later, though, Williams was stuffed on 4th and 1 to end the game. Going for the first down was the right move, as a field goal would have almost certainly led to a tie or loss for the Rams. It just sucked to see Williams, who had 131 yards and a pair of receiving touchdowns on the night, come up short in another huge spot.

I went 8-8 in Week 4 to maintain my .500 record, but would you look at that? I’m not alone in last place anymore! Thanks to my brilliant island picks of the Saints, Giants, and HOW BOUT DEM COWBOYS, I made up ground on everyone except Abe, who I’m pretty sure is telepathically linked to Stu Feiner. Unfortunately, I also went to an island for the Bengals, and they were embarrassed for the second straight week.

It might be impossible to catch up to The Source, but we’ve got Tank in our sights for Week 5!

49ers at Rams -5.5

I thought this would be a bounce-back season for the 49ers, but I’m backing off of them a little after that loss to Jacksonville. It also makes sense to pick against them because Brock Purdy, Ricky Pearsall, and Jauan Jennings are all missing this one due to injury. Who is Mac Jones going to throw the ball to? Probably Los Angeles defensive backs. Ram It!

Vikings at Browns (London) +3.5

I’m just calling all of the international games London games because if you’re not in the stadium, do you really care where this game is being played? Ireland, Munich, and even Brazil are all London to me. The Browns have been blown out in two tough road games (the Ravens are still a tough road game even though they are 1-3) while playing better at home. I’m hoping that London feels more like home than a neutral site even though the Vikings have been hanging out over there since their comeback against Pittsburgh fell short.

Raiders at Colts -6.5

The Colts might not be undefeated anymore after they let last week’s game at Los Angeles get away, but that defeat didn’t shake the feeling that Indianapolis is a playoff contender. Just think of how hyped we’d be for this team if Ha Shem Mitchell didn’t celebrate too early on his way to the end zone. The Raiders, meanwhile, can’t decide if they are incompetent or merely mediocre. Either way I think they could get smashed by the Colts on Sunday.

Giants +1.5 at Saints

This is a chalky homer underdog pick after the Giants shocked the Chargers last week. The Saints were competitive in two home games before getting blasted on the road at Seattle and Buffalo. Still, New Orleans is 0-4 while Jaxson Dart has shown that he can close out a game against a decent opponent. Give me Big Blue in a sweat.

Cowboys -2.5 at Jets

Dallas has scored 80 points in its two home games and just 34 points in its two road games. It’s not hard to imagine Justin Fields making a couple of big plays and leading the Jets to an upset win, but I like that the Cowboys are playing on artificial turf against a defense that has allowed at least 27 points in every game.

Broncos at Eagles -4.5

I’m done picking against the Eagles. Maybe they will finally lose if I pick them. If the Rams couldn’t cover against them with a 19-point lead, who can?

Dolphins +1.5 at Panthers

It’s scary because Carolina’s 30-0 demolition of Atlanta came in the Panthers’ only home game. Both of these teams have been lousy on the road, but Miami has looked a lot better since its Week 1 clunker. Carolina SHOULD be able to handle the Dolphins, but I’m rolling with the theory that Tyreek Hill was a clubhouse cancer.

Texans at Ravens -3.5

I don’t think the Ravens stink. Their schedule has just been brutal. They blew out Cleveland and may do the same to Houston.

Titans +7.5 at Cardinals

Every Arizona game has been a one-score game. Tennessee has lost by multiple scores for three straight weeks. Something has to give and I don’t think Arizona is capable of blowing anyone out.

Buccaneers +3.5 at Seattle

Seattle has looked solid since its opening loss to San Francisco, but the Buccaneers are a step up in competition. Tampa Bay is in a close game every week, so getting a field goal plus the hook feels good.

Lions -10.5 at Bengals

This is chalk. The Lions have been a total juggernaut for three straight weeks, so don’t overthink it.

Washington at Chargers -2.5

Remember, the Giants needed two interceptions returned inside the five yard line to score 21 points on the Bolts. I’m more concerned with the offense, but it should get right at home against a unit that was just shredded by Michael Penix Jr.

Patriots +7.5 at Bills

Laying a huge amount of points in the last three weeks, Buffalo is 1-2 against the spread. Drake Maye has looked like a franchise quarterback for the Patriots, and they are frisky enough to hang around with the Bills.

Chiefs at Jaguars +3.5

The Chiefs look like they are all the way back after stomping Baltimore and the Jaguars are 3-1 against mediocre competition. This feels like a game that makes money for the books with everyone in the public taking Kansas City.

Man, we were sooooo close to getting the Yankees eliminated from the 2025 MLB Postseason in just two games, but we will have to wait at least one more night for Yankees fans to once again realize that we’re not in the 1990s anymore. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera are not walking through that door, but on Wednesday night Austin Wells did walk through that door. He hooked a Garrett Whitlock changeup down the right field line to score Jazz Chisholm all the way from first base and break a 3-3 tie. David Bednar pitched a one-two-three ninth to earn the save and schedule a sure-to-be dramatic Game 3 for the evening after Yom Kippur.

IT WAS FAIR, I WAS THERE
I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELLS#POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/GJlqcFb0cz

— MLB (@MLB) October 2, 2025

Up until that RBI by Wells, the Red Sox had an answer to everything the Yankees were doing. New York got on the board first with a Ben Rice two-run dinger in the first that came on the first Postseason pitch that he ever faced. Trevor Story responded to that with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded in the third, and he also canceled out Aaron Judge’s fifth-inning RBI single with a solo shot in the very next frame. Story came up with the bases loaded and two outs again in the seventh, but his 102 mph line drive was tracked down by Trent Grisham in center field to keep the score tied 3-3. Just one batter earlier, Chisholm made a diving stop to keep Masataka Yoshida’s single on the infield and prevent Nate Eaton from scoring from second base.

The Yankees weren’t the only team on Wednesday to bounce back from a Game 1 Wild Card loss. The Tigers and Guardians were locked in another pitcher’s duel despite Casey Mize and Tanner Bibee both leaving the game before the fifth inning ended. Detroit nearly gained the lead in the fourth when Javy Baez singled up the middle with two outs and the bases loaded, but the clutch hit merely tied the game at 1-1 because Zach McKinstry was tagged out at third base just before Dillon Dingler touched home plate with the second run.

BRAYAN ROCCHIO@CLEGUARDIANS LEAD IN THE 8TH! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/CQCruErNr3

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

Instead, it was Brayan Rocchio of the Guardians who broke the tie in the eight inning when he homered off of Troy Melton with one out. That solo shot ignited a five-run rally for Cleveland that was capped by a three-run bomb from Bo Naylor. Cleveland’s 6-1 victory means we’ll find out on Thursday if the Tigers will get their hearts broken again or if they’ll erase the regular season collapse and take their place in the ALDS. It is essentially a one-game playoff to decide if the Guardians’ miracle comeback to win the AL Central was legitimate.

Over in Chicago, the Padres struck back against the Cubbies with a 3-0 win in Game 2 of their series. After Chicago’s bullpen dominated in Game 1, it was San Diego’s turn to show off its sexy relief pitching. The trio of Adrian Morejon, Mason Miller, and Robert Suarez held the Cubs to just one hit after starter Dylan Cease left the game in the fourth inning. Miller was particularly filthy, as he hit 104 mph on the radar gun and struck out the first five batters that he faced.

104 MPH 🔥

Mason Miller is bringing the heat pitching on back-to-back days! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/S6TyC8G3iB

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

The Padres got the only run they needed in the first inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Arraez singled off of Cubs opener Andrew Kittredge and both runners stole a base to set up Jackson Merrill’s sac fly. Manny Machado added a two-run home run off of Shota Imanaga in the fifth to provide a little cushion.

We finally got some champagne popping late at night when the Dodgers beat the Reds 8-4 to clinch the series in two games. Cincinnati caught a break early when Teoscar Hernandez dropped a fly ball and opened up the door for a two-RBI single by Sal Stewart, but Los Angeles would score the game’s next eight runs to take a six-run lead in the seventh on Mookie Betts’ third RBI hit of the night. Betts had a rough regular season, but he appears to be rounding into vintage form with an .899 OPS in September and six hits in two Wild Card games. Yoshinobu Yamamoto didn’t allow an earned run in six and two thirds innings, and Roki Sasaki showed off his electric stuff while dominating the ninth inning. I feel good about the Dodgers giving the Phillies a hard time in the Division Series.

The first day of the 2025 MLB Postseason is in the books, and that leaves us with four teams facing do-or-die elimination games today. Boy, did that escalate quickly. We’re only on the first day of October and already the Cinderella Guardians and powerhouse Yankees are being pushed to the brink. How did this happen?

Well, Cleveland ran into an ace at the top of his game in Tarik Skubal. The Cy Young favorite struck out 14 Guardians in seven and two thirds innings with three walks and just one run allowed when Angel Martinez raced around from second base to score on an infield single by Gabriel Arias in the fourth inning.

The @CleGuardians tie the game on a WILD play at the plate! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/c3GIZO4PnE

— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

Martinez’s mad dash evened the score after the Tigers used a pair of two-out hits and an error to get a run across in the first. Detroit would score the winning run in the seventh when Riley Greene led off with a double and was driven in by a safety squeeze bunt perfectly executed by Zach McKinstry. That type of play is how you win games when your ace is shoving on the mound and you know just one run can make a big difference.

That run only held up because of Will Vest getting out of trouble in the ninth, though. Jose Ramirez led off with a ground ball up the middle and ended up on third base when Javy Baez made a diving stop and saw his throw to first get by Spencer Torkelson at first base. However, Vest buckled down and struck out George Valera before getting a comebacker from Kyle Manzardo that got Ramirez stuck between third and home. Vest tagged out Ramirez easily, which set up the game-ending pop-up by C.J. Kayfus and a 2-1 victory for the Tigers.

Detroit might have blown the AL Central in a massive collapse, but now it is one win away from eliminating Cleveland and putting the regular season in the past. That is how quickly things can change in October. It’s a tough loss to swallow for Cleveland because zero earned runs were scored off of starter Gavin Williams. Johnathan Rodriguez booted Kerry Carpenter’s line drive single in the first, which allowed him to reach second base and score the first run of the game on Torkelson’s subsequent single. McKinstry’s RBI bunt was set up Jhonkensy Noel’s failure to get his foot on first base after a ground ball by Wenceel Perez. Because of Noel’s error, there was only one out when McKinstry stepped to the plate, which set the stage for the safety squeeze. With tighter defense, Cleveland might have won this game 1-0 and dealt another heartbreaking blow to Detroit’s world title hopes.

Back-to-back home runs by Seiya Suzuki and Carson Kelly in the fifth inning lifted the Cubs to a 3-1 win over the Padres even though Chicago starter Matthew Boyd only lasted four and a third. A phenomenal bullpen effort led by Cubs closer Daniel Palencia closed the game with 14 straight outs to give Chicago a 1-0 series lead.

CARSON KELLY
BACK-TO-BACK@CUBS LEAD! #POSTSEASON pic.twitter.com/dmyA4CbMLU

— MLB (@MLB) September 30, 2025

San Diego should have taken advantage of the opportunities it had against Boyd earlier in the game. Back-to-back doubles by Jackson Merrill and Xander Bogaerts put the Padres on the board in the second inning and put a runner on third with no outs due to an error by Pete Crow-Armstrong. Ryan O’Hearn had a great chance to put a crooked number on the board, but his sharp ground ball was stopped by Dansby Swanson in a diving effort to keep a second run off the board. O’Hearn had another opportunity to extend San Diego’s lead in in the fourth after a single by Bogaerts put runners on the corners with one out, but Swanson thwarted him again by running down and snagging his flare to shallow center field.

Nick Pivetta was the tough-luck loser in this one. He struck out nine Cubs with no walks in his five innings of work, but the two home runs in the fifth doomed the Padres after they missed two big chances to add to their 1-0 lead. Once they fell behind, there was nothing going against the Chicago bullpen.

That brings us to our poor, sweet Yankees and their quest for a 28th world championship. Just like San Diego, New York went up 1-0 in the second inning only to lose the game 3-1. Unlike the Padres, the Yankees were playing at home against their top rival and they had a massive opportunity to turn the game around in the ninth inning. Aroldis Chapman has had a big comeback season and returned to the elite ranks of relief pitching, but he looked quite ordinary when he took the mound to put away the Yankees last night. Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger all hit singles to load the bases with nobody out. Fans in the Bronx were ready to celebrate a comeback, but it was then that Chapman returned to his top form with a strikeout of Giancarlo Stanton before getting Jazz Chisholm to fly out feebly and finishing the game with a strikeout of Trent Grisham.

Yankees had the bases loaded with no outs in the 9th.

Then Aroldis Chapman retired three straight 😤 #Postseason pic.twitter.com/WbbZvSC7SM

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

One more hit by the Yankees would have spoiled a brilliant performance by Boston ace Garrett Crochet, who struck out 11 batters with zero walks in his seven and two thirds innings. The only run scored off of Crochet was Anthony Volpe’s opposite field solo shot in the second inning. Boston didn’t have an answer until the seventh inning thanks to some great pitching by Max Fried. The southpaw was rolling along until Aaron Boone lifted him at 102 pitches with one out and nobody on base. The Red Sox immediately rallied off of Luke Weaver with Ceddanne Rafaela walking and moving to third on a double by Nick Sogard. Both guys came home on a clutch pinch-hit single by Masataka Yoshida, and that gave Boston all the runs it needed to win the game.

The difference in this game was pretty simple. Boston manager Alex Cora allowed his left-handed ace to throw 117 pitches and not relinquish the ball until it was time for the closer to take over. Yankees skipper Aaron Boone was still worried about pitch counts in the most crucial game of the season. Fried didn’t begin to struggle on the mound to prompt Boone to replace him. He merely hit a pitch threshold and Boone couldn’t bring himself to buck the analytics.

Analytics didn’t come into play much during the Dodgers’ 10-5 stomping of the Reds on Tuesday night. Los Angeles scored five runs in three innings off of Cincinnati ace Hunter Greene thanks to home runs from Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez, and Tommy Edman. The Dodgers would go up 7-0 after six innings before Alex Vesia and Edgardo Henriquez spearheaded a bullpen meltdown that led to the Reds loading the bases in the eighth and putting the tying run on deck before Jack Dreyer finally put out the fire.

Teoscar Hernández sends a three-run homer into the bleachers! #Postseason pic.twitter.com/Uh8cgpoXRH

— MLB (@MLB) October 1, 2025

As a Mets fan, I have no interest in seeing a magical run by the Reds, so it was great to see the Dodgers take care of business in Game 1. I’m expecting a similar performance on Wednesday. As for the rest of these series, I’m predicting that the Cubs finish the Padres in two games, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Guardians and Yankees bounce back and force Game 3.

What do my NFL picks have in common with the Mets? They both love to lose, but somehow they are still above .500 in September. Here is what I have for the Week 3 slate in my quest to climb the leaderboard.

Dolphins at Bills -12.5

This was such a square pick. It was destined to lose. The Dolphins were not going to be lifeless forever and they would have been even closer to pulling off the upset if not for the horrible roughing the kicker penalty and Tua Tagovailoa’s untimely interception.

Packers -7.5 at Browns

This is also a square pick, but it will win because the Browns are worse than the Dolphins.

Colts at Titans +3.5

I am selling my Colts stock while starting their defense in fantasy football. Hopefully this one is extra sloppy.

Bengals +2.5 at Vikings

I’m very confident in Jake Browning outdueling Carson Wentz in a backup quarterback battle. That just means that Browning will mess up less than Wentz will. Cincinnati has a decent shot at the Playoffs with a win, and I don’t think they’re missing this chance.

Steelers at Patriots -1.5

This pick looks even better after Miami hung with Buffalo on Thursday night. That doesn’t mean it will work out, but it’s hard to get over how well Justin Fields played against Pittsburgh compared to his game against Buffalo.

Rams +3.5 at Eagles

Jalen Hurts has thrown for 253 yards over two games. Obviously, the Eagles can still win with those numbers, but can they win big? I’m thinking no.

Jets +6.5 at Buccaneers

Tyrod Taylor will get the Jets’ offense humming again after last week’s disaster. The Buccaneers have so far only beaten a couple of mediocre teams by the skin of their teeth.

Raiders at Commanders -2.5

I’ll happily take a discount with Jayden Daniels out of the lineup. Marcus Mariota is competent and the Raiders might not be.

Falcons at Panthers +5.5

Carolina was just plucky enough last week to make me choose it as a home underdog despite Atlanta’s success on the road last week.

Texans +1.5 at Jaguars

I’m not a Jacksonville believer. They are going to have to beat someone significant before I can pick them over a desperate Houston squad.

Broncos at Chargers -2.5

Too square or easiest pick of the week? I will keep riding the Bolts with numbers like these.

Saints at Seahawks -7.5

I still don’t believe that Seattle is any good, but you have to lay a big number with the Saints coming out of the dome for the first time this season.

Cowboys at Bears -1.5

I thought Vegas would have more respect for the Cowboys. This line tells me that some smart people think that Caleb Williams can carve up the Dallas defense just like Mr. Unlimited did last week.

Cardinals at 49ers -1.5

I continue to believe that the 49ers are in a bounce-back year. Even with Mac Jones under center, this is a very small number for a home date with Arizona.

Chiefs at Giants +5.5

My boys should have an easier time on defense this week with how the Chiefs are banged up. I think this one will be low-scoring and ugly.

Lions +5.5 at Ravens

This is a shootout and somebody will win by three or four. Taking the points is an easy call.

You maneuvered your way through another eventful week, and guess what … it’s all upon you. Another day of decision in the never-a-dull moment NFL. To help you frame your thoughts, it’s the “Suddenly, it’s time to be a Big Man” CDST Week 2 Preview Show..

And here are ChabDog’s beautiful picks for Week 2–plus Thursday’s correct choice of Pack over Commies…

Back when the Mets had a competent pitching staff, their series opener against the Detroit Tigers would have been just about over when Juan Soto hit a grand slam off of Charlie Morton in the top of the fourth inning. Not only was the blast cathartic because Soto had yet to hit a home run this season that delivered more than two RBI, but it also turned a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 Mets lead.

OUTTA HERE! 😤@JuanSoto25_ | #LGM pic.twitter.com/bUW5TPn9hq

— New York Mets (@Mets) September 1, 2025

Unfortunately, the Mets no longer have a competent pitching staff, so fans had to watch that three-run lead evaporate over the span of just two innings. Zach McKinstry tripled home Dillon Dingler in the bottom of the fourth before being driven in on Jahmai Jones’ two-out RBI single. Detroit tied the game in the fifth when Ryne Stanek uncorked a wild pitch after coming in to relief Gregory Soto, who allowed two of the inning’s first three batters to hit singles.

It’s not very fun to watch your baseball team when it feels like no lead is safe. Even the most electric rallies can prove meaningless when they’re so easily countered. Fortunately, Juan Soto’s next big hit would put the Mets up for good. It wasn’t hit as hard as the grand slam, but Soto’s ground ball down the right field line in the sixth inning was good enough to score Luis Torrens and Francisco Lindor and put the Mets back up by two. Even better was that Brandon Nimmo followed up with an RBI single and the Mets finally got a shutdown inning when Tyler Rogers held the Tigers off the board in the bottom of the frame.

The Mets manufactured a run in the seventh when Jeff McNeil reached on an error by Gleyber Torres and then was replaced by Luisangel Acuna, who stole second base, moved to third on Luis Torrens’ bunt, and scored on an RBI ground out by Brett Baty. Could we finally relax now that the Mets had built their biggest lead of the day at 10-6? No, because Carlos Mendoza still trusts Ryan Helsley, and that meant that Riley Greene was doubling to lead off the bottom of the seventh and scoring on another big hit by McKinstry.

Brooks Raley would also allow a run to score following a leadoff double in the eighth before Edwin Diaz finally stopped the scoring by recording the final four outs of the game in order. It is going to be an exhausting month of September if the Mets are going to allow at least five runs in every game like they have for the last five days. This juggernaut offense led by a suddenly hot and clutch Soto can only do so much.

Sean Manaea and Koda Senga can’t stay in the rotation if they can’t make it through five innings. We’ve seen guys like Brandon Waddell and Justin Hagenman do a better job this season. This 10-game road trip that will eventually take the Mets through Cincinnati and Philadelphia is off to a good start, but it will not stay that way if the pitching doesn’t improve very quickly.

Screenshot

This week we take a big swing from the hips and watch as our home run through July rips, with CDST’s, “Of Thunderlips, sledgehammer serving clips, and old guns that need no permits”. After another week off, we’re flying high again, paying tribute to Ozzie, the Hulkster, old guys in the gym with no time for Father Time, and great Scottie, who made all the big shotties at the British Open on the Irish coast. It’s truly a crowded house tomorrow at the Hermosa Beach studio, as we welcome a local volleyball legend Kevin Barnett, who’s set the gold suit standard for being an Olympic late bloomer in Men’s Volleyball, plus Mr. Funhouse himself, mad hatter Abe Pagoda, ChabDog doing his best Iron Mike Singletary glare, A-ron doing a Giant 1000 yard stare, and our very suave production chief getting spastic over plastics.

The National League blew a 6-0 lead in the final three innings of Tuesday night’s MLB All-Star Game from Atlanta, but it hung on to win thanks to a perfect performance by Kyle Schwarber in the exciting new tiebreaker. I don’t remember when MLB announced that an All-Star Game tied after nine innings would be decided by a three-on-three Home Run Derby, but it was fun to finally watch one, even if it came after a Senior Circuit meltdown.

The NL led from the start thanks to three straight hits off of AL starter Tarik Skubal by Shohei Ohtani, Ronald Acuna Jr., and Ketel Marte. Marte drove in the first two batters with his double, and the NL added to its lead in the sixth when Pete Alonso hit a three-run oppo taco off of Kris Bubic and Corbin Carroll followed with a solo shot off of Casey Mize three batters later.

Pete Alonso delivers a 3-run home run! #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/aNawz1goYp

— MLB (@MLB) July 16, 2025

The AL bounced right back off the mat, though. Brent Rooker hit a three-run bomb off of Randy Rodriguez to cut the lead in half before Maikel Garcia walked, stole second base, and scored on a ground ball from Royals teammate Bobby Witt Jr. The NL held their 6-4 advantage until the ninth, when Robert Suarez allowed back-to-back doubles by Byron Buxton and Witt to put the tying run in scoring position. Dave Roberts went to Diaz for the save, but Steven Kwan got Witt home with a two-out infield single.

Next up was the thrilling tiebreaker, but it could have been even more thrilling if some of the All-Star starters were available. Unfortunately, many had already showered, which led to Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge not taking part, among others. Roberts appeared to have the edge on Aaron Boone with a three-man lineup anchored by Kyle Schwarber and Pete Alonso, and that turned out to be the case. With the NL trailing three dingers to one, Schwarber came up and left the yard on all three of his swings to put his team in front. Jonathan Aranda needed just one home run to put the pressure on Pete Alonso, but he went 0-for-3 to give the NL the win.

Kyle Schwarber: legend #AllStarGame pic.twitter.com/jkXyasugNX

— MLB (@MLB) July 16, 2025

The only downside of the evening was Schwarber winning MVP honors over Pete Alonso even though he went 0-for-2 during the baseball portion of the game. I don’t think three batting practice home runs are more valuable a three-run home run off of a pitcher who is trying to get you out, but I guess I’m old fashioned. If Suarez and Diaz closed the door like they were supposed to, Alonso would be MVP. We’ll have to settle for Polar Bear hitting the first Mets All-Star home run since David Wright in 2006. And of course, the National League win is great to see as well!

It’s Cal Raleigh’s world and we’re all just living in it. Not only did he become the first catcher to win the Home Run Derby on Monday night, but he also became the first switch hitter to win the dinger tournament, and he did so while actually switch hitting. In the first round, he slugged 10 home runs as a lefty and seven as a righty to barely edge out Brent Rooker, who also hit 17 home runs but lost the longest home run tie breaker by a fraction of a foot.

Big Dumper makes a big splash 💥 pic.twitter.com/NPerDLBqju

— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025

Raleigh didn’t need a tiebreaker to get by Oneil Cruz in the semifinals or Junior Caminero in the finals. Hopefully his long ball binge in the Home Run Derby won’t get in the way of him chasing home run history when the regular season continues. Raleigh has 38 home runs, which is just one short of the 39 that Barry Bonds had at the All-Star break during the 2001 season when he set the all-time record with 73 home runs for the season.

Of course, may fans have put an asterisk next to that record because of Bonds’ involvement with performance-enhancing drugs, and that should make Raleigh’s pursuit of the record even more exciting. Can the Big Dumper purify the record books by matching Bonds using nothing but natural muscle and determination? I’d say the odds are against him, but Raleigh is already having a storybook season, so let’s see where the chapters take us.

I didn’t get a chance to comment on the Wimbledon men’s final yet, but that was some performance by Jannik Sinner. He lost the first set to Carlos Alcaraz 6-4, but then won the next three by the same margin. The match wasn’t nearly as thrilling as the final at Roland-Garros that Alcaraz won despite dropping the first two sets, but I think Sinner liked it that way. He broke Alcaraz’s serve when he needed to and made sure that none of the sets went to tiebreak.

It will be interesting to see what happens at the U.S. Open because Sinner would have a chance at the grand slam if not for Alcaraz’s comeback in Paris. Instead, it will be Alcaraz trying to win a second major this year to match Sinner’s victories at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. I wonder if I’ll root for them to meet in the final or if I’ll cheer on an American instead. Taylor Fritz is getting very close to making me believe that an American man can win the big one.

Before I head out, here are two more highlights from the Home Run Derby. First, Oneil Cruz’s absurd 500-foot blast.

ONEIL CRUZ HIT ONE OUT OF THE STADIUM 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Q3sS8qMVyp

— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025

Second, some kid tried to rob a home run from Caminero during the final round. It was ruled a home run, but should it have been? This kid could have been public enemy number one for all seven Rays fans!

Bro did NOT want Junior Caminero to win the Derby 😭 pic.twitter.com/JmBXNLaeLK

— MLB (@MLB) July 15, 2025

I think the ball should have to leave the yard to be a home run in the Home Run Derby. If you don’t want the robberies, don’t let the kids shag balls!

I just knew the Mets wouldn’t be able to handle the pressure of needing to win one more game in Kansas City on Sunday to stay in first place of the National League East at the All-Star break. Sure enough, even though Clay Homes and a returning-from-injury Sean Manaea combined to pitch a solid game, the Mets lost 3-2 to the Royals and fell into second place with the Phillies winning their series finale in San Diego.

Royals starter Noah Cameron did a great job getting the Mets to hit balls on the ground. The Mets got seven hits off of him in six and two thirds innings, but the only one that went for extra bases was a triple by Mark Vientos in the first inning. This game might have ended up differently if the Mets had drive Vientos in, but he was stranded at third thanks to Juan Soto’s ground ball to shortstop and Brandon Nimmo’s foul pop-up.

Nick Loftin delivers his second #walkoff of the @Royals homestand! pic.twitter.com/5JIzPbqhTu

— MLB (@MLB) July 13, 2025

Kansas City scored a pair of runs on John Rave’s two-run double off of Holmes in the second inning, but the Mets didn’t break through until the ninth with Carlos Estevez on the mound. The Mets pounding Estevez is starting to become a theme after Vientos hit his bases-clearing double against him on Friday night and Francisco Lindor took him deep for a grand slam in Game 4 of last year’s NLDS. This time around, Ronny Mauricio led off with a double and Jeff McNeil smoked a triple off the right-center field wall to bring the tying run within 90 feet of the plate. Two batters later, Jared Young did something useful for once and hit a game-tying sac fly to center field.

The late rally was all just a tease, though. In the bottom of the inning, Tyler Tolbert singled off of Manaea with one out and stole second base before being driven in by Nick Loftin’s walk-off hit. At least the Mets didn’t get shut out.

It felt like the Mets were getting shut out during tonight’s MLB Draft because New York didn’t get to choose a player until the 38th pick. That guy ended up being Mitch Voit from Michigan, who is better known as the guy who tried to smoke the third base line like it was cocaine last season.

https://twitter.com/KFCBarstool/status/1944562740695269793

It has never felt more like 1986.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcYWPRnXYDo

On today’s “Doge Day of Summer” CDST Show….\

There was reason to believe on Saturday morning that Amanda Anisimova was going to upset Iga Swiatek in the ladies final at Wimbledon to become champion. Anisimova had just upset the top player in the world, Aryna Sabalenka, and she was playing as well as anyone. Plus, Swiatek wasn’t known as a strong grass player and didn’t have a Wimbledon title to her name. Although Swiatek was strongest on clay, she had just been defeated by Sabalenka at Roland-Garros less than two months ago.

When the tennis started, however, it couldn’t be more clear who the superior player was. Swiatek immediately broke Anisimova’s serve and kept on smashing the ball precisely with her backhand while Anisimova couldn’t keep anything in play. She was either hitting it long or wide or into the net even when she had a chance to deliver an easy winner.

A new Wimbledon champion is crowned 🇵🇱

Iga Swiatek defeats Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win the 2025 Ladies' Singles Trophy 🏆#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ZnznTxwO5A

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 12, 2025

Swiatek had all but wrapped up the first set when she broke Anisimova’s serve a second time to go up 3-0, but it was still surprising when the punishment continued into the second set. It was a little sad to watch Anisimova grow more frustrated as she seemingly forgot how to play the brilliant tennis that got her to this point. Fortunately, Swiatek finished the match pretty quickly, but no one wants to lose 6-0, 6-0 in a grand slam final.

Hopefully Anisimova will hold onto the good memories from Wimbledon and flush that crushing defeat to Swiaek. She’s had a tumultuous career, but she showed how much potential she has in these past two weeks, so I’m looking forward to see how she bounces back.

As for Swiatek, she’s now won a grand slam on all three surfaces and is just an Australian Open title short of the career grand slam. I know a lot of fans are wondering if she could have gotten by Sabalenka had Anisimova not gotten her out of the way. Maybe we’ll find out at the US Open in September.

I went into Thursday’s Mets vs. Orioles doubleheader feeling optimistic that the Mets could sweep both games and keep pace with the Phillies in the National League East. Unfortunately, the offense was very disappointing against Baltimore starters Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sogano and completely useless against the Orioles bullpen. The Mets had a chance to score early on Morton in the first game when a passed ball by Jacob Stallings in the first inning allowed Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor to reach second and third base with no outs. However, Morton struck out both Juan Soto and Pete Alonso before Jesse Winker popped up to strand both runners.

The Mets scored in the fifth when Brett Baty walked and stole second base before being driven in by a rare Tyrone Taylor double, but New York still found a way to disappoint by making three outs without scoring Taylor. One more time in the sixth, the Mets had a runner on second with nobody out and couldn’t bring him around. So that was four runners in scoring position with no outs that the Mets left stranded. It almost didn’t matter because of how good David Peterson was in this game, but Ryne Stanek relieved him in the eighth and gave up a script-flipping, two-run bomb to Gunnar Henderson. As if that wasn’t enough, Stanek then walked the bases loaded and let Baltimore add a run on a sac fly to make the score 3-1. If only the Mets had scored some of those available runs from before, they might have held on to win.

Gunnar gives us the lead!! pic.twitter.com/ZnnsLvxxmP

— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 10, 2025

The story was a little different in the second game, since this time both Nimmo and Lindor scored in the first inning after getting on base. Unfortunately, there was no Peterson to pitch a gem in this one. Brandon Waddell started the game and let three runs in during the second inning thanks to a double by Alex Jackson and a home run from Jordan Westburg. the Mets caught up in the fourth with a clutch RBI single by Brett Baty, but Justin Hagenman could not keep Baltimore off the board in the fifth. Colton Cowser hit an RBI single with two outs and Ramon Urias drove in another thanks to an error by Baty. The Orioles added two more runs in the sixth and ran away with a 7-3 win with the Mets offense doing very little after the fourth inning.

One of the only bright spots of the second game was Rico Garcia shutting down the Orioles for their final two and two thirds innings at the plate. In typical Mets fashion, Garcia was designated for assignment today to make room for Kodai Senga’s return to the rotation. Obviously, someone had to be bounced to make room for Senga, but there are guys like Alex Carrillo and Waddell who have options left in the back of the bullpen. Why send away Garcia when he has been effective so far?

Anyway, the Mets are in Kansas City starting tonight for the final three games before the All-Star break. Hopefully it won’t be a total disaster with Senga, Frankie Montas, and a mystery starter (should be Clay Holmes but Mindless Mendoza is probably babying him).

The Yankees still haven’t lost since the Mets let them off the hook on Sunday. This time, they beat the Mariners 6-5 despite going without a hit for the first seven innings of the game. They finally broke through against Bryan Woo with a pair of singles by Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice to lead off the eighth. Austin Wells hit a sac fly to get the Bombers on the board and Giancarlo Stanton homered off of Matt Brash to make the score 5-3.

Wells in the clutch 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nMo3AIO58N

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 11, 2025

In the ninth, the Yankees rallied against Seattle closer Andres Munoz, who was apparently tipping his pitches. Wells came up big with a two-run single and then Aaron Judge hit a walk-off sac fly in the 10th following a great job by Devin Williams to strand the ghost runner. It is a little painful watching the Yankees come to life knowing that the Mets could have killed their season a few days ago.

Over in London, Taylor Fritz blew a chance to force a fifth set with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic was swept by Jannik Sinner. The announcers were treating the aging Djokovic like a dog that needs to be put down, but he was looking pretty good in this tournament before facing the top player in the world. He can still play for a while longer if he’s okay not winning grand slam events, but not might not be the case.

Ugh. The Mets were rained out on Wednesday night, so they’ll have to play twice against Baltimore today before jumping on a plane to Kansas City, where they’ll play on Friday night roughly 24 hours after the doubleheader ends. David Peterson is pitching for the Mets in the first game against Charlie Morton, who got off to a miserable start this season but has been better lately with just six runs allowed over his last four outings. The second game, which is scheduled for 5:05 PM, will allow the Mets to tee off on Tomoyuki Sugano with a mystery starter on the bump for New York. It will probably be some combination of Justin Hagenman and Austin Warren, who was just called up to be the extra man for the doubleheader.

Luisangel Acuña is back. The Mets recalled him from Triple-A today and designated Travis Jankowski for assignment.

Reliever Austin Warren is also up as the Mets' 27th man for their doubleheader.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 10, 2025

I don’t know why Acuna is back in the majors so quickly. The infield is already crowded with Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, and Ronnie Mauricio in the mix and Acuna needs to play every day. Travis Jankowski hadn’t been getting much playing time as the utility guy. Anyway, let’s check out what else happened in sports on Wednesday.

The Yankees designated DJ LeMahieu for assignment. He was extremely productive for the Bombers when they signed him as a free agent in 2019 and then he hit .364 and won the batting title in the short pandemic season. However, his play has fallen off a cliff since then and he was almost impossibly bad in 2024, hitting .204/.269/.259 in 228 plate appearances. He hasn’t been nearly that awful this season, but the Yankees felt it was time to say goodbye with Jazz Chisholm playing well at second base and infield prospect Jorbit Vivas showing posting a .409 on-base percentage at Triple-A.

There was happier news for the Yankees on the field, as they beat Seattle 9-6 for their third straight win. That’s right, it was the Mets who got the Yankees going on Sunday by letting them off the hook with sloppy play. Now it appears that the Bombers have righted their ship with Cam Schlittler striking out seven in his big league debut and picking up the win thanks to Chisholm’s two home runs.

Absolutely destroyed. pic.twitter.com/EevePIph4a

— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 10, 2025

In Kansas City, Jack Caglianone hit a total monster bomb that measured 466 feet to center field. Salvador Perez also homered twice, including a solo shot that gave his team the lead in the eighth inning, and the Royals beat Pittsburgh 4-3 to finish off a series sweep.

Jesus Luzardo was splendid for the Phillies. He pitched seven shutout innings while the bats unloaded for seven runs in the eighth inning to give Philly a 13-0 victory in San Francisco.

In tennis, Ben Shelton was taken down by top seed Jannik Sinner in straight sets during their Wimbledon quarterfinal. It was a promising tournament for Shelton, but we’ll have to settle for Taylor Fritz being the only American man in the semifinals. For Sinner, it was a return to his dominant self after he was bailed out of an upset scare in the round of 16 by an injury to Grigor Dimitrov.

Meeting Sinner in the semifinals will be the arguable GOAT, Novak Djokovic. He dropped the first set to Flavio Cobolli but then one three straight to prove that he’s still got it. It seems that Djokovic has already passed the torch of greatness to Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, but now he has a chance to yank it back for one more run at a grand slam title.

On the women’s side, Belinda Bencic upset the Russian prodigy Mirra Andreeva in just two sets, although both went to a tiebreaker. It’s matches like those that make you wonder what would happen if the women had to win three sets in a match like the men. Would Bencic beat Andreeva in a third set with such thin margins? We’ll never know. Meanwhile, Iga Swiatek beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 7-5 and will face Bencic later today.

"The moment of this young woman's life" 👏

Amanda Anisimova completes an extraordinary semi-final to defeat No.1 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 and book her spot in her first ever #Wimbledon final 💥

Take. A. Bow. ♥️ pic.twitter.com/WexH4VL2k2

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2025

Right before publishing time, the women’s semifinals began and Amanda Anisimova has upset the number one Aryna Sabalenka! She has looked vulnerable at Wimbledon and finally dropped a set in the quarterfinals to Laura Siegmund before bouncing back for the win. Sabalenka lost the first set and won the second again vs. Anisimova, but the American showed great resilience in the third set. Even after blowing a match point with the serve and allowing Sabalenka back on even footing, Anisimova rebounded right away and won the match with a break point. The United States has now put a woman in the final of the last four grand slam tournaments. The last two, Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, both won the title.

Something amazing happened last night. The Mets fell behind by four runs in the seventh inning, and instead of withering like a tulip the moment autumn arrives, they battled back and won the game! Jackson Holliday appeared to put the game away with his solo shot off of the newest Mets scrap-heap pickup Alejandro Carrillo, but Baltimore’s 6-2 lead would only last a few minutes. Brandon Nimmo opened the eighth inning with a single and was driven in by Francisco Lindor’s two-run bomb to center field. That worked so well that Juan Soto and Pete Alonso decided to replicate the sequence, and all of a sudden we were tied 6-6 with just two innings to play. Shout out to Bryan Baker. He has been a solid reliever for the Orioles this season, but he looked like he was throwing batting practice on Tuesday night.

THIS GAME IS TIED! 🐻‍❄️ pic.twitter.com/ICkSyuZf0j

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 9, 2025

The game ended up going into extra innings, and Soto quickly gave New York the lead with a leadoff base hit to get the ghost runner Lindor home from second. Alonso followed with a single of his own, and the Mets had a great chance to add a second run, but Luis Torrens struck out looking with the bases loaded after a Travis Jankowski bunt and an intentional walk to Jeff McNeil. At one point during the Torrens at-bat, it looked like the Mets would score on a passed ball by backup catcher Alex Jackson, but the ball bounced off the umpire and stayed within Jackson’s reach.

Fortunately, that break for Baltimore would not end up ruining the Mets’ evening, and neither would Carlos Mendoza’s questionable managing of the bullpen. Although a well-rested Edwin Diaz only threw 10 pitches in the ninth inning, Mendoza declined to bring him out for the 10th, even though Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson, and Ryan O’Hearn were due up. Instead, it was up to Huascar Brazoban to pitch to the trio that gave Baltimore the lead in the sixth inning with consecutive base hits following Clay Holmes hitting Holliday on the foot with an 0-2 pitch. Brazoban has not been consistent lately, but he was at his best when it counted in this one and set down the Orioles in order to end the game.

The top four batters in the Mets’ order did almost all of the damage in this one, but we saw encouraging signs at the bottom when Ronnie Mauricio homered in the sixth to get New York on the board and help put an end to what was becoming a dominant outing for Brandon Young. Brett Baty followed with a double and would score to give the Mets the lead on Nimmo’s double.

The Mets are back at it tonight in Baltimore with David Peterson on the mound against Tomoyuki Sugano. Sugano has been getting shelled lately with five home runs and 13 runs allowed in his last two starts. Peterson was having a rough time at the end of June, but he appeared to right the ship with just one earned run allowed in six and two thirds innings vs. Milwaukee last week.

That great Mets comeback capped off an awesome day in sports for me. After weeks of rumors, Penn State officially secured the commitment of the top NHL Draft prospect for 2026, Gavin McKenna.

The kind of player who doesn't follow history, he makes it.#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/99AhzScRNr

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) July 9, 2025

You usually don’t see elite Canadian prospects play college hockey before heading to the NHL, but the NIL money is changing all that. Penn State’s rabid fan base, financial backing, and great hockey facilities combined to convince McKenna to become a Nittany Lion for a year. Expectations for this program were already high since it was coming off of its first Frozen Four appearance, but with McKenna on board, the bar has been raised. I will be disappointed if Penn State doesn’t win the national championship.

The Mets pulled off a fourth straight win on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Yankees 12-6 to move 14 games over .500 and remain a half game back from Philadelphia in the National League East. The Mets jumped all over Carlos Rodon in the first inning with Starling Marte leading off with a double and Brandon Nimmo hitting his second grand slam of the week following walks by Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso.

Frankie Montas helped the Mets maintain their advantage through the first five innings by pounding the strike zone and allowing a solo home run to Jazz Chisholm and another to Austin Wells. I’m fine with allowing solo shots when your offense spots you a four-run lead, and Montas made sure to make the Yankees earn their runs with zero walks on the day. The Yankees broke through with a crooked number in the sixth on Cody Bellinger’s two-run double, but by then the Mets had expanded their total to seven runs on Pete Alonso’s first home run of the day, an opposite-field smash that scored Francisco Lindor.

That ball was CRUSHED 😤 pic.twitter.com/XdBhMZnGRE

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 5, 2025

Alonso hit a three-run bomb in the seventh to put the game out of reach, but that didn’t stop Carlos Mendoz from using both Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz in a six-run game. For both relievers, it was their third appearance in four games, which made them unavailable for Sunday’s series finale. That’s a pretty big issue to begin with, but it’s even a bigger deal when your rotation has been decimated by injuries and you’re counting on guys like Chris Devenski, Zach Pop, and Brandon Waddell to keep the Yankees off the scoreboard.

Devenski pitched surprisingly well to open the game on Sunday, but Pop and Waddell combined to give up five runs, with the last two coming on a two-run blast by Aaron Judge in the fifth inning. The Mets battled back with four straight singles in the bottom of the frame that yielded two runs, but they could have scored more if Starling Marte’s drive to deep center field had resulted in a double. Jeff McNeil was trying to tag up from second base on the play, so he only advanced to third even though the ball got all the way to the wall. That meant that Hayden Senger had to stop at second from first and Marte had to stop at first. When Lindor came up next with a single up the middle, it scored McNeil and Senger when it should have scored Senger and Marte.

The Mets rallied again in the sixth with three straight singles following Brandon Nimmo getting hit by a pitch, but their output was limited by Senger hitting into a double play with the bases loaded and nobody out. You have to wonder what Carlos Mendoza was thinking in that spot letting Luis Torrens stay on the bench. Senger had just singled the inning before, but Torrens is the more reliable bat, and he ended up pinch-hitting in the ninth inning anyway.

Un-Belli-evable.

Cody with a huge catch and dart to first 🔥 pic.twitter.com/QFI85jvJjM

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 6, 2025

After the Yankees added a run in the seventh on a Judge sac fly, the Mets looked to threaten again when Lindor led off with a hit-by-pitch. Juan Soto followed with a line drive to left field that appeared to be a base hit, but Cody Bellinger made an incredible shoestring catch and threw to first to double off Lindor. If only the All-Star shortstop had slid into first, the Mets might have been able to continue the inning after Alonso’s walk and Nimmo’s ground out.

Even though the Mets had a bullpen game on Sunday against the Yankees’ ace Max Fried, it will felt like the Mets let the game get way because of all those missed opportunities between the fifth and seventh inning. The “you can’t win them all crowd” is just happy that the Mets won two of three while the Yankees fans were saved from total humiliation. I don’t think most Mets fans realize how close we were to crippling morale in the Bronx.

Now that the Subway Series is through, it’s time to focus on the National League East. The Mets are just one game back of Philadelphia and finish the first half of the season with a road trip to last-place Baltimore and middling Kansas City. Meanwhile, the Phillies have a tough west coast swing in San Francisco (where they lost on Monday) and San Diego. Time to take back first place!

Happy 4th of July! Today is the day that we celebrate our independence in the United States of America with hot dogs, fireworks, and baseball. The baseball part went especially well with my Mets defeating the Yankees in a home run slugfest. 10 of the game’s 11 runs were scored on dingers, and the game’s deciding blast came off the bat of Jeff McNeil in the bottom of the seventh. He drove in two runs with one big swing to turn the Mets’ 5-4 deficit into a 6-5 lead.

SECOND DECK.@JeffMcNeil805 for the lead! pic.twitter.com/QE0rFuSOkw

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 4, 2025

McNeil also helped the Mets preserve the lead with his awesome defensive play in the top of the ninth that turned DJ LeMahieu’s infield blooper into a big out and prevented Aaron Judge from getting another at-bat. Judge had already homered in the first inning, and the Yankees would end up with three long balls off of Mets starter Justin Hagenman, but Huascar Brazoban and Reed Garrett got some redemption by keeping the Bombers off the scoreboard for the final three innings.

The Mets needed Brazoban and Garrett badly today since Edwin Diaz and Ryne Stanek had both pitched in consecutive games, making them ineligible for the July 4 contest due to the Mets’ baby rules that turn Carlos Mendoza into a Little League manager. Fortunately, the boys came through even though they have been pitching pretty poorly lately.

It’s also time to put some respect on Jeff McNeil’s name for what he is doing this season. He’s looked more like his vintage self and he’s making great plays in center field as well as at second base. McNeil’s batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage are all higher than Francisco Lindor’s in 2025.

OH, JEFF! pic.twitter.com/sbVDTrkdM3

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 4, 2025

With the Mets handling baseball and fireworks, it was up to Joey Chestnut to take care of 4th of July hot dogs, and he delivered with 70 and a half hot dogs and buns to reclaim his Mustard Belt. It was great to see Chestnut return to Coney Island for the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest after skipping the event last year due to a sponsorship dispute.

The Mets constantly getting on my nerves has distracted me from the Knicks and Rangers making some big moves recently. The Knicks have a chance to reach the NBA Finals in 2026 with two of their key rivals having star players suffer serious Achilles injuries during the 2025 Playoffs. The Pacers will probably be without Tyrese Haliburton for the entire season and the same goes for the Celtics and Jayson Tatum. That left the Knicks with the second best odds to win the East, but they were also missing an important piece since Tom Thibodeau was surprising fired following the disappointing loss in the Eastern Conference Finals.

BREAKING: The New York Knicks are expected to land on two-time NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown as the franchise's next head coach, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/LOXb74LFe4

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 2, 2025

The Knicks are a little more whole now that they’ve found a veteran head coach to lead the team in the new season. That man is Mike Brown, and while he may not have an NBA title as a head coach like my preferred candidate Mike Malone, he does have plenty of experience and a history of success. Brown burst onto the scene as a head coach in 2005, and he led LeBron James and the Cavaliers to 50 wins in his debut season. Cleveland reached the NBA Finals in Brown’s second year at the helm, but the next three years featured disappointing playoff exits against the eventual conference champs.

Brown left Cleveland when James did and joined the Lakers a year later after Phil Jackson retired. The Lakers were eliminated in the second round of the Playoffs in 2012 and Brown was fired just five games into the next season. Brown sat out for a couple seasons before joining the Warriors as an assistant under Steve Kerr for six years. He reemerged as a head coach in 2022 and led the Kings to two playoff appearances in two seasons before shockingly being let go after a slow start this past winter.

In a nutshell, the Knicks hired another coach who knows how to win a lot of regular season games and has a history of disappointing exists from the Playoffs. What is even the point?

Thank you, Key.

Best of luck in Carolina! pic.twitter.com/83gYbn1zCN

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) July 1, 2025

At least with the Rangers we have some idea of the purpose of their actions. They are trying to rebuild without bottoming out, which is an admirable strategy even if it might not technically be the smartest thing. Tanking isn’t fun, and it shouldn’t be a thing in a league that properly rewards winning and punishes losing, but it can be more effective in the long term than trying to win every year.

Hopefully not tanking works out well for the Rangers. They already traded away one key member of their 2024 Presidents Trophy team in Chris Kreider, and now K’Andre Miller is out the door as well. It would be cool if general manager Chris Drury didn’t send Miller to division rival Carolina, but it was cool to get back a 2026 first round draft pick, a 2026 second round pick, and young defenseman Scott Morrow. I’m a hocky casual, but that seems like a decent return for a guy who has seen his points decline for the past two campaigns, even if Miller is still only 25 years old.

What I’m still trying to figure out is why the Rangers dealt away Miller’s eight-year, $60 million and then immediately signed veteran Russian defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov to a seven-year, $49 million deal. That is only a difference of half a million dollars on a per-year basis, and Gavrikov is four years older than Miller. Gavrikov is not a more productive offensive player, so I’m going to convince myself that he’ll improve the Rangers’ defense to help me sleep at night.

I thought that the Mets had a much better chance to win Game 1 of Wednesday’s doubleheader than Game 2, so of course they ended up dropping the early game 7-2 before pulling off a surprising 7-3 win in the nightcap. New York might have even swept the pair of games from the Brewers if not for a Reed Garrett meltdown that allowed Milwaukee to come from behind in Game 1. The Mets were in control of that one after five innings with Clay Holmes having settled down after allowing a leadoff home run to Sal Frelick back in the first. There was even some competent offense on display by the home team with Luis Torrens executing a beautiful hit-and-run that put Jeff McNeil in position to score on a Brett Baty sac fly in the third. An inning later, Juan Soto stole second base following a leadoff walk and scored on Pete Alonso’s single up the middle.

JOEY ORTIZ GRAND SLAM pic.twitter.com/cZRQMvTVm3

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 2, 2025

All that proved to not be enough, though, since Reed Garrett allowed the first four batters he faced in the sixth inning to reach base. The streak culminated with Joey Ortiz and his sub-.600 OPS hitting a grand slam to instantly turn the game into a Brewers rout. Garrett had a great first two months of the season, but he has been unreliable lately.

Huascar Brazoban is another reliever who Mets fans have lost faith in lately, but he did a good job opening the second game of the doubleheader and pitching a scoreless inning to set the stage for Blade Tidwell. The strategy allowed Tidwell to last longer than four innings for the first time in the majors, but that seemed to be too much for him as Christian Yelich and Jackson Chourio began the sixth inning with back-to-back home runs. Fortunately, the Mets had already built a nice cushion thanks to their two-out rally off of Jacob Misiorowski in the second.

First pitch grand slam for @You_Found_Nimmo! 💣 pic.twitter.com/u6z7Adt7TH

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 2, 2025

It had to be one of the most unlikely rallies of the season with Brett Baty and Ronnie Mauricio both walking before Hayden Senger reached on an infield single. Brandon Nimmo took advantage with a grand slam and Francisco Lindor pulled out of his slump with a solo shot to give the Mets a five-run frame. Lindor added two more RBI with a single in the sixth and a double in the eighth while Richard Lovelady, Ryne Stanek, and Edwin Diaz shut down Milwaukee for the final three innings.

If the Mets can defeat the Brewers again on Thursday night, they’ll win a series for the first time since their sweep of Washington in mid-June. Speaking of sweeps, the Yankees are in danger of being swept out of first place by the Blue Jays. Toronto has won three straight over their rivals to pull into a tie atop the American League East, and they play one more on Thursday night. Wednesday was nearly a triumphant victory for the Bombers, as they fell behind 8-0 in the first three innings before coming back to tie the game 9-9 in the eighth on a dramatic home run by Aaron Judge. However, the Jays regained the lead in the bottom half on a two-out wild pitch by Devin Williams and held on for the win.

The United States Men’s National Team also went ahead early and held on for a big win. Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes to give the US the edge in its Gold Cup semifinal match against Guatemala. The underdogs got on the board in the 80th minute, but it wasn’t enough to stop the US from coming away with a 2-1 win. We’ll probably play Mexico in the final unless El Tri chokes against Honduras.

Welp. The Mets were supposed to be back to playing baseball tonight after one day off. Instead, they are rained out and will play a split doubleheader on Wednesday. They’ll try to pull out of their tailspin that appeared to be over when they beat the Braves in two straight games last week. The Pittsburgh Pirates were supposed to be a soft landing spot, but instead the Mets played their worst ball of the year and were outscored 30-4 while being swept in the three-game set.

Up next are the Milwaukee Brewers who have quickly become a Wild Card rival of the Mets. Despite losing 13 of their last 16 games, the Mets are still on top of the National League Wild Card race, but they are only a half game in front of Milwaukee. If the Mets don’t start winning consistently soon, they could fall out of the Wild Card race altogether with teams like San Diego and San Francisco nipping on the heels of the current three Wild Card holders.

New York will send Clay Holmes to the bump in one of the games on Wednesday. He faced Atlanta in his two most recent starts and combined to allow four runs in nine and two thirds innings, but he needed 200 pitches to complete those innings thanks to a very poor ratio of seven strikeouts to 10 walks. With Mets starters struggling to get deep into games lately, the key for Holmes will be to throw strikes and generate ground balls to greatly increase his pitch efficiency.

By the way, with Holmes pushed to Wednesday, the Mets don’t have a pitcher for the series finale vs. the Yankees on Sunday. They should have at least made an effort to play on Tuesday.

The Brewers will have their ace Freddy Peralta on the mound. He has won his last three decisions, but in each of the last two he only pitched five innings while allowing three earned runs. Those two games featured three of the 12 home runs that Peralta has given up all season, so maybe the Mets can pop a few over the wall and get the offense going.

Here’s what the lineup was supposed to look like on Tuesday night.

Back home. #LGM pic.twitter.com/8WeT60Dd8M

— New York Mets (@Mets) July 1, 2025

Brett Baty has been a bit of a bright spot for the Mets’ struggling offense. He has nine hits in his last seven games, while Mark Vientos has struggled since coming off the injured list with just one hit in 13 at-bats and five strikeouts with no walks. There’s room for both guys in the lineup with Jeff McNeil playing center field, but that leaves Ronnie Mauricio on the bench, and he’s a developing player who should be in the lineup every day, no matter if that is in the majors or at Triple-A.

No player took the league by storm in June like @Jmisiorowski9 #ThisIsMyCrew x @MLBPS_US pic.twitter.com/EkzVGauxnF

— Milwaukee Brewers (@Brewers) July 1, 2025

The Mets better win the Holmes vs. Peralta matchup, because the other game on Wednesday will feature Jacob Misiorowski for Milwaukee and Blade Tidwell for New York. Misiorowski is one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball, and he’s lived up to the hype so far with just two runs allowed in his first three MLB starts, spanning 16 innings. While all three of Misiorowski’s outings have gone at least five frames, Tidwell has yet to complete a fourth inning in his two starts and one relief appearance for the Mets. Tidwell has looked overmatched when he faces a lineup for the second time, and he’s allowed 12 runs in 10.2 innings this season. On a day when the bullpen will already be stretched due to the doubleheader, Tidwell will likely be asked to go deeper into a major league game than he’s ever gone before. Hopefully he’ll be up for the challenge.

NBA free agency is in full swing and the moves have been coming fast with all 30 teams trying to bring themselves a little closer to where the Oklahoma City Thunder are at the top of the mountain. One of the biggest transactions of the summer came when LeBron James opted into his $52.6 million player option with the Lakers. It wasn’t a surprise that James would want to return to Los Angeles and pursue a championship alongside Luka Doncic, but then James’ agent Rich Paul made some comments that made me think maybe we should have been surprised that he opted in.

Rich Paul: “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a… https://t.co/tgyeCxRQZm

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 29, 2025

That sounds like a guy who wants to be traded from a rebuilding team to a contending team. Why not opt out then? Probably because James and Paul think that they can have their cake and eat it too. James might not get $50 million if he chose free agency, but he thinks that if he can engineer a trade from the Lakers, he can choose a new team while keeping his mega salary. He’s LeBron James, so he’ll probably get what he wants, but it’s stuff like this that makes James less likable than the guy he’s constantly compared to, Michael Jordan.

I think James is the best to ever play basketball. He may only have four championships, but his victory with Cleveland over Golden State in 2016 is an accomplishment that Jordan never had the chance to match because he didn’t go against a team that was close to as good as those Warriors. James is also going to compile more stats than Jordan and James was robbed of Finals MVP in 2015 because nobody had the stones to give it to a player on the losing team. The GOAT debate in basketball can go on forever, but one thing is for certain: Jordan is a lot cooler than James will ever be.

Jordan was almost universally admired, didn’t fire off dumb political takes, and didn’t change teams during hiss prime. James might be the better player, but Jordan wins the aura argument every time. I think that aura gap would only increase if social media was prominent in the 1990s like it is today.

Maybe I’ll change my tune on James if he helps the Knicks win a title before he retires, but that doesn’t seem likely. Someone who is helping the Knicks is Jordan Clarkson, as he’s expected to join the team on a veteran’s minimum contract after negotiating a buyout from Utah. Clarkson should give the Knicks some much-needed depth and scoring off the bench.

Over in Brooklyn, the Nets made a big move by acquiring Michael Porter Jr. from Denver in exchange for Cameron Johnson. The Nets also get an unprotected first-round draft pick from Denver in 2032. Good job by Brooklyn going seven years into the future with that request because it’s hard to imagine the Nuggets being in the lottery anytime soon. On the other hand, everyone on both teams could be fired by then, so what is even the point?

It’s hard to imagine the Mets’ season getting to a lower point, but then again they are still 48-37 and just two losses behind Philadelphia in the National League East. It’s possible this gets a lot worse before it gets better, but it’s also possible that the Mets make a couple of trades to help the pitching staff and get the offense ramped up again before any hope of the Postseason melts away in the summer sun. Which fate will the Mets become? We don’t know, and that’s why we watch.

This weekend was a Frank the Tank rage tweet come to life with the Mets deciding that it wasn’t enough to lose 9-1 to the last-place Pirates on Friday night or to lose again 9-2 on Saturday. Carlos Mendoza’s squad had to let go of the rope and fall 12-1 on Sunday afternoon to maximize despair. The 30-4 aggregate score was the worst run differential that the Mets have ever suffered in a three-game series, and it happened to a “good” Mets team against the second-division Pirates. That’s baseball, Suzyn.

Frankie Montas appeared to be on his way out of the first inning when Brett Baty made a great snag on a Spencer Horwitz line drive to keep two runs off the board, but Montas let those runs in anyway when Ke’Bryan Hayes hit a two-out, two-RBI single. Based on Hayes’ overall stats and his stats against the Mets, I’m starting to think that he doesn’t have a hit against any other team this season. Anyway, Oneil Cruz and Tommy Pham followed Hayes’ knock with back-to-back home runs to make the score 5-0 Pittsburgh after one.

ONEIL CRUZ 💥 pic.twitter.com/diyiG6jOcD

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 29, 2025

As has been the case recently for the Mets, they couldn’t do much on offense against the opposing starting pitcher. Mike Burrows and his 4.15 ERA limited New York to just one run on a Luis Torrens solo shot in four and a third innings. Former Met Genesis Cabrera followed up with a scoreless frame and Carmen Mlodzinski kept the Mets off the scoreboard for the final three and two thirds innings.

Montas would last four innings and give up just one additional run, but more than enough damage had already been done. Richard Lovelady, who just rejoined the Mets today after the team designated him for assignment a few days ago, gave up a pair of runs in the fifth. Dedniel Nunez also let in two runs on Cruz’s second home run of the day, which led to Travis Jankowski pitching in the eighth. Gotta save the bullpen before an off day!

I’m sad that Lovelady failed to redeem himself after allowing two runs against the Braves on Tuesday as “Dicky” Lovelady, his name during his first brief stint with the Mets. Maybe the team will stick with Lovelady for longer than a day this time around instead of giving him the shaft.

Madness in Minneapolis. pic.twitter.com/QXc3Z3AzFH

— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 30, 2025

There was some good sports news on Sunday as the United States Men’s National Team defeated Costa Rica to advance to the Concacaf Gold Cup semifinals. USA appeared to be in control of the game when Diego Luna and Max Arfsten scored goals on either side of halftime to give their team a 2-1 lead. However, Costa Rica drew level on Alonso Martinez’s goal in the 71st minute after the US missed multiple opportunities to take a two-goal lead. The game went to penalty kicks after 90 minutes before the Gold Cup is a Mickey Mouse tournament, but at least it was exciting. US keeper Matthew Freese was incredible and stopped three of Costa Rica’s six kicks. That allowed the US to triumph on Damion Downs’ match-sealing strike despite missing two of our first five kicks.

The Mets followed up their 9-1 loss in Pittsburgh on Friday night with a 9-2 loss on Saturday evening. This one got off to a decent start with Francisco Lindor hitting a leadoff double and scoring on a seeing-eye single by Juan Soto. However, after the game was delayed by 90 minutes due to rain in the top of the second, Carlos Mendoza made the decision to keep Paul Blackburn on the mound in order to save the bullpen. That turned out to be disastrous as Blackburn allowed five straight singles without recording an out. Jose Butto came in to put out the fire, but Adam Frazier hit a sac fly off of him to charge a third earned run to Blackburn and give the Pirates the run they needed to win the game.

Butto, Brandon Waddell, and Reed Garrett all did a good job keeping the Mets in the game, but they only scored once more when Pete Alonso doubled with one out in the fifth and was driven in on a Brandon Nimmo single. The Mets blew a golden opportunity an inning earlier when Brett Baty led off with a double, but he was tagged out on a bizarre play when Luis Torrens hit a chopper to third that was misplayed by Ke’Bryan Hayes on the infield grass. Baty would have advanced to third easily if Hayes had fielded the ball cleanly, but instead Isiah Kiner-Falefa picked up the ball behind Hayes and tagged Baty out while he was sliding into third. Even the least superstitious person on Earth can look at that play and say, “Wow, these Mets are cursed.”

"Oh, what bad luck for the Mets" pic.twitter.com/AfSEK19Qns

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 28, 2025

Carlos Mendoza was ejected for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire Roberto Ortiz in the fourth inning, but New York only mustered one hit the rest of the way following Nimmo’s RBI single in the fifth. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, would get a lot more hits because Huascar Brazoban has devolved into the worst pitcher on the planet. He walked Joey Bart and Spencer Horwitz in the bottom of the eighth to set up Ke’Bryan Hayes’ RBI single that added a key insurance run for the Pirates.

Colin Poche then came in to make his Mets debut and allowed the rally to continue for five more Pittsburgh runs. Now there was an extra embarrassing score to go with another depressing result, and it appears that the Mets players have had enough.

After their 12th loss in 15 games, Mets players are meeting right now.

— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) June 29, 2025

Oh boy. Nothing like a players-only meeting to fire up the boys and end the losing streak. According to Pete Alonso, the meeting was productive.

Pete Alonso feels that the Mets' players meeting was a "productive gathering" pic.twitter.com/brrwJFMzzS

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 29, 2025

He definitely just swore a lot and yelled “LFG!” Maybe that will be enough with Frankie Montas back on the hill Sunday afternoon. He pitched five scoreless innings in his Mets debut, and the team needs more starts like that with Paul Blackburn and a mystery starter taking up a pair of rotation spots these days. Either that, or the Mets need to pay a touching tribute to Dave Parker, who passed away on Saturday, and start mashing some dingers.

The Mets were supposed to come to Pittsburgh to grow their winning streak that began with two big wins over the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, but instead the Pirates handed New York a 9-1 loss that is the most pathetic of the season. David Peterson has been so great for the Mets this year. He’s been a de facto ace of the no-name starting rotation that has been the strength of the team. He should have at least flirted with a complete game against Pittsburgh’s feeble lineup, but instead he allowed a four-run rally in the second inning that the Mets did not recover from. You just can’t allow guys like Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jared Triolo, and Alexander Canario to rack up consecutive base hits when the first two are below .300 in both on-base percentage and slugging while Canario was let go by the Mets in spring training.

We scored some runs 🤝 pic.twitter.com/F1VDdWvpbJ

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 28, 2025

New York’s offense wasn’t much better as Mitch Keller allowed just one run on a Juan Soto solo shot. Part of the reason why Soto hits so many home runs with the bases empty is because opposing pitchers fear him and don’t give him much to hit when there are ducks on the pond, but it’s also ridiculous how unproductive he is with runners on base. The Mets were gonna need a crooked number to catch up in this one, and Soto’s bomb did not provide it.

Blade Tidwell was also disappointing in this game and he allowed Pittsburgh to get very comfortable on Bryan Reynolds’ three-run home run in the sixth inning. Tidwell keeps proving that he doesn’t belong in the big league rotation or the bullpen, so hopefully someone else is tabbed to fill Griffin Canning’s role when his spot comes up. I am thinking that Justin Hagenman will get the first crack at the job, but you can’t rule out a bullpen game.

While I’m typing this, the Phillies are up 11-0 on Atlanta, so it looks like the Mets will be in second place in the morning. Over in the Bronx, the Yankees only got four hits, but they beat the Athletics 3-0 thanks to Jazz Chisholm’s solo shot and a shutout thrown by Will Warren combined with four relievers.

At least Penn State has shown up for me lately with Yanic Konan Niederhauser being surprisingly chosen by the Los Angeles Clippers at the end of the NBA Draft’s first round. Two nights later, the Columbus Blue Jackets chose Jackson Smith in the first round of the NHL Draft, and that meant that Penn State had a player selected in the first round of the NBA, NHL, and NFL Drafts. That is awesome for someone like me who is a PSU alum and loves watching a variety of sports. It still sucks that Konan left us after showing so much promise, but that’s just what happens when you cheer for a basketball school.

The selection of Smith led to more hype that next year’s projected top NHL pick Gavin McKenna is headed to Penn State.

The moment it was leaked that Gavin McKenna is more than likely coming to Penn State during the NHL Draft Broadcast

INSANE

Penn State is rising to the top of the college hockey world 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/Nkp9NZkYm9

— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) June 28, 2025

McKenna had already been linked to Penn State, but Emily Kaplan saying that she believed the move was happening added to the hysteria. I’ll still wait to believe it until I see it. The idea of an elite hockey prospect choosing to play at PSU is exciting not just because of the growth of the program, but because it will probably lead to more games getting on television.

The Mets shutout the Braves 4-0 on Thursday night and vaulted back into first place thanks to the pathetic Phillies only scoring one run during their entire three-game series in Houston. Staying in first place, however, will once again prove to be a stiff test since Griffin Canning went down with an Achilles injury in the third inning. I usually try not to speculate on injuries, but in this case I don’t think we need to wait for the Twitter doctors or the regular doctors to confirm that Canning is out for the rest of the season. The Mets already have Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill on the injured list, while Sean Manaea recently suffered a setback to his recovery from a strained oblique he suffered at the start of spring training. Thank goodness for Frankie Montas, right? But even with Montas in the rotation, the Mets need someone to step up and fill Canning’s role.

Carlos Mendoza provides an update on Griffin Canning:

"We think it's an Achilles. He's getting an MRI, we're waiting for the results, but it looks like it's an Achilles injury." pic.twitter.com/Wr1vxoxQrN

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 27, 2025

That will probably come down to Blade Tidwell or Justin Hagenman since both guys have helped out the Mets with spot starts this season. I am thinking that Hagenman is the guy since he was solid in two big league appearances this season while Tidwell failed to finish the fourth inning in both of his starts. The Mets have an off day on Monday, so they can probably drag their decision out until the Yankees come to Queens on Independence Day Weekend.

Starting rotation depth could be an issue for the Mets in the long term, but at least they thrived in the short term. A lot of credit goes to Austin Warren, who completed the third inning for Canning and then pitched two more scoreless innings after just being called up today. Dedniel Nunez looked like the guy who took New York’s bullpen by storm last year. He pitched two scoreless frames of his own and struck out the side in the seventh inning. No matter who the fifth starter ends up being, that guy will probably need a lot of bullpen help, so having Warren and Nunez step up is a big deal.

The Mets’ offense on Thursday started out very frustrating when Francisco Lindor wasted a couple of singles by Brett Baty and Ronnie Mauricio in the third inning. He struck out and failed to drive in the runner from third with less than two outs, but New York got some redemption in the fourth when Tyrone Taylor hit a sac fly to score Juan Soto. Speaking of Soto, he and Pete Alonso did a great job setting the table in the fourth as well as the seventh, when they both reached on two-out hits before Jeff McNeil plated them with a two-run single. Alonso also had a clutch RBI hit in the fifth after Soto popped up in a big RBI spot. As raging hot as Soto is, his inability to hit with runners in scoring position this season remains baffling.

The Yankees didn’t play today, but they scored a huge win by announcing a George Constanza bobblehead promotion. The Bombers host the Athletics this weekend while the Mets travel to Pittsburgh, where they will not face Paul Skenes since he just pitched on Wednesday. The Mets have done a good job getting fat on second-division teams this season, and this is another opportunity.

The Boston Celtics were supposed to start a dynasty when they defeated the Dallas Mavericks to win the 2024 NBA Finals. Boston had a pair of young stars in Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to build around and all of their great role players were under contract for the near future. A lot has changed in the year since then with the Celtics blowing two big leads at home to my New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That led to Boston’s early exit from the Playoffs, but perhaps more troubling for the future of the franchise was the torn Achilles tendon suffered by Tatum in Game 4.

The injury puts a serious dent in Boston’s chances to compete for the Eastern Conference title in 2026, but instead of sitting on a team that is still talented enough to make some noise in the Playoffs, president of basketball operations Brad Stevens is pivoting and raising Boston’s ceiling for a future where Tatum is at full strength.

On Monday, Stevens sent Jrue Holiday and the three years remaining on his contract packing and got back an exciting playmaker in Anfernee Simons as well as two second-round draft picks. Holiday has disappointed during his two years in Boston and still has over $100 million left on his contract. Maybe he would have stepped up his game with Tatum out of the lineup, but I think the cap space that the Celtics get from sending him to Portland more than makes up for it in the long term. Boston also gets Simons from the Trail Blazers, and while he’s not the most efficient scorer, he is on an expiring deal and should help replace Tatum’s production in the upcoming campaign.

The next day, Boston sent Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta and got back Georges Niang. Niang won’t be as productive a scorer as Porzingis, but he can shoot 40 percent from three-point range and saves the Celtics more than $20 million in salary this year. Both Porzingis and Niang are on expiring deals, so this move doesn’t save Boston money beyond 2026. However, it’s another example of Stevens make his team more flexible while also getting an asset that can help the team compete in the upcoming season. With the Pacers and Bucks also reeling from Achilles injuries to key players, it’s smart of Stevens to not punt on 2026 even if he is taking a step back in order to bolster Boston’s future upside.

The Celtics shifting most of their focus to the future just makes it more important that the Knicks find the right coach and win the East in 2026. New York is +290 to reach the NBA Finals, but you’d think that would be a little higher if it had just held onto the coach that led them to relevancy.

I was all set to blame the latest Mets loss on Paul Blackburn. He got off to a slow start on Monday night against the Braves with three runs allowed in three innings, and it could have been a lot more. Jeff McNeil saved one run for Blackburn when he threw behind Ronald Acuna Jr. for a tag out at third base after the Atlanta superstar froze on Marcell Ozuna’s hard-hit ground ball. Acuna made up for the mistake by launching a home run to begin the third inning and celebrating all the way around the bases. That made the Braves’ lead 2-0 since the inning before Ozzie Albies was hit by a pitch, stole second base, and was driven in on a sac fly by Michael Harris II.

The real trouble for Blackburn started when he walked Ozuna and Austin Riley following the Acuna bomb. That loaded the bases with nobody out and it looked like Atlanta could put the game out of reach, but Blackburn got Albies to pop up and Sean Murphy had to settle for a sac fly when his line drive to left field was caught by Brandon Nimmo. Harris also hit the ball very hard, but his was snagged by Pete Alonso on the infield to end the threat with the Braves leading 3-0.

Good morning. Vote Ronald!@Delta | https://t.co/tF2BPq04Q9 pic.twitter.com/HrksjzSgto

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 24, 2025

Blackburn would settle down in the fourth and I thought he had a shot at the quality start, but Carlos Mendoza took him out in the fifth and let Jose Butto finish the frame before retiring the side in order in the sixth. The Braves wouldn’t score the rest of the way, which made the real villain of this game the Mets’ offense. It’s been putrid lately with the exception of that 11-run outburst on Saturday night in Philadelphia, but it appeared to be on the upswing when Juan Soto followed a walk by Nimmo in the sixth with a two-run blast to left-center field. If only Francisco Lindor hadn’t taken himself and Brett Baty out of the equation with a double-play ground out, the home run might have given the Mets an extra run or two.

It still felt like the Mets had the momentum they needed to get the comeback win, and the pitching certainly did its part. Unfortunately, the Mets’ feeble bottom of the order went down one-two-three in the seventh and recorded the first two outs of the eighth. With the lineup turned over, Lindor and Nimmo knocked base hits into right field to set the stage for Soto to drive in another clutch run, but after getting ahead in the count 3-1, he was struck out by Braves southpaw Dylan Lee. So anticlimactic. Lee dominated the Mets in the ninth to bring the game to a sad end.

.@DRLee45 appreciation post 👏👏👏#LocalFordDealer | #BravesCountry pic.twitter.com/3k1ltbiTzE

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 24, 2025

The Mets shouldn’t have to wait until the trade deadline to make improvements to the lineup. Sending down Luisangel Acuna and Francisco Alvarez was a nice start, but what about designated hitter? I’m sure there are several teams that have guys wasting away in Triple-A who can give the Mets more at that spot than they’re getting from Jared Young and Starling Marte. Maybe Mark Vientos can play DH when he comes off the injured list, but for that move to be effective, Brett Baty has to start hitting consistently at third base. Despite a surge last month that had many fans to declare that he had finally arrived as a productive big league player, Baty is hitting .216/.266/.404 for the season. That’s really bad, but it’s still better than what Tyrone Taylor and Luis Torrens are doing, and both of those guys are lineup regulars for the time being.

Catcher and center field could be targets for trade acquisitions, but it would also help the Mets if Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil hit like they’re capable of doing. McNeil has been very productive this year with his OPS rising above .900 less than two weeks ago, but he’s got one hit in his last 16 at-bats. We know how important Alonso has been to the Mets, but he went 0-for-8 with four strikeouts in the last two games while the team scored just three combined runs. With the top of the order performing consistently, the Mets’ offense can take off if they can just get down to one or two guys who have no chance to get a base hit instead of four or five.

Around the majors

In Cincinnati, the Yankees had to call up former Braves right-hander Allan Winans to make a spot start after Ryan Yarbrough landed on the injured list. He held up for the first three innings, but then Elly De La Cruz’s RBI triple sparked a three-run Reds rally and they went on to win 6-1. Nick Lodolo needed 94 pitches to get through four and a third innings against the Yankees, but the Cincinnati bullpen allowed just two hits and a walk the rest of the way.

The Orioles shut out the Rangers 6-0 thanks to a career-high eight strong inning from former Miami lefty Trevor Rogers. Jackson Holliday powered the Baltimore offense with three hits, including a home run, and four RBI.

The White Sox also scored zero runs on Monday night in an apparent effort to make the Mets feel better. Arizona blew up Shane Smith for five runs in the first two innings on its way to a 10-0 whomping. “That’s So” Pavin Smith hit a pair of bombs while driving in four runs and Eduardo Rodriguez struck out 10 Chicago batters in six innings.

The Pirates won an exciting back-and-forth affair in Milwaukee with Isiah Kiner-Falefa driving in the winning run with a triple in the top of the sixth. Pittsburgh second baseman Nick Gonzales went off for five hits in the 5-4 win. That’s a pretty big accomplishment considering the rest of his team struck out 16 times. What a BABIP game!

In other National League Central action, the Cardinals pounded Ben Brown and the Cubs 8-2 with Lars Nootbaar, Brendan Donovan, Alec Burleson, and Nolan Gorman all going yard between the fourth and sixth innings. This is a big series for the division with St. Louis now four games behind Chicago in the loss column. It’s also big in the Wild Card hunt with the Cardinals creeping up on the Mets.

Cal Raleigh hit his 32nd home run of the season to cap the scoring in Seattle’s 11-2 win at Minnesota. Julio Rodriguez, Luke Raley, and Dominic Canzone also went deep for the Mariners. Big Dumper now has five home runs in his last four games and with 77 games in the books, he’s on pace to challenge the single-season home run kings in September.

The Angels scored four runs in the eighth off of Boston’s Garrett Whitlock to break a 5-5 tie and win 9-5. Before the late rally, all of the Angels’ runs came in the first with Walker Buehler forcing three of them in with a pair of walks and a hit by pitch. The Red Sox would walk 11 batters as a team in the ugly defeat.

In the other west coast game, the Nationals pounded San Diego with 15 hits in a 10-6 win that featured home runs from James Wood and Josh Bell. The top six hitters in Washington’s lineup all had multiple hits in this one.

The Mets might have laid an egg on Sunday night, but there was still plenty of excitement in the sports world with the NBA and college baseball naming champions and a thrilling finish on the PGA TOUR. Let’s see what everyone is buzzing about on a hot, hot summer Monday.

Thunder bring first NBA title to Oklahoma City

What a monumental upset it would have been if the Indiana Pacers had one more surprise left in them. Unfortunately for all of you sick and twisted people who were hoping for an Indiana victory, the Oklahoma City Thunder used a strong third quarter to vanquish the Cinderella Pacers 103-91 in Game 7 of the NBA Finals and claim a championship for the first time since the franchise moved from Seattle. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points and handed out 12 assists while earning Finals MVP honors, but what most people will remember about this game is the horrible injury that Tyrese Haliburton suffered after making three three-point shots in the first quarter. Haliburton was already playing through a calf injury, but he appeared to suffer an Achilles injury when he went down while trying to dribble past SGA.

SGA SHINES IN GAME 7, LIFTING OKC TO THE TITLE 🏆

⚡️ 29 PTS
⚡️ 12 AST
⚡️ 5 REB
⚡️ 2 BLK

Shai caps a HISTORIC season as the Thunder win their first championship in the OKC era! pic.twitter.com/eSNLbZiaid

— NBA (@NBA) June 23, 2025

The score was tied 16-16 at the time of Haliburton’s injury, so we’ll never know what would have happened if he had played the full time. Indiana got 24 points and 13 rebounds from Bennedict Mathurin off the bench as well as 15 points and six assists from Andrew Nembhard, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the Thunder, who led by more than 20 in the fourth quarter. If the opinion of the Twitter doctors is confirmed by MRI and Haliburton has suffered a torn Achilles tendon, he’ll be the third player in these NBA Playoffs to go down with that injury. It already happened to Damian Lillard in the first round and Jayson Tatum in the Eastern Semifinals. As much as I rag on Haliburton, it sucks to see him get hurt so seriously when he is close to his dream. I wanted to see him stay healthy and go 0-for-10 from the field. It’s going to be tough for Indiana to return to the Finals if he’s out next season, but the East remains wide open.

For the Thunder, this could mean the start of the next NBA dynasty with how young the core of SGA, Jalen Williams, and Chet Holmgren is. On the other hand, there is more than enough competition to keep them busy in the West with Anthony Edwards continuing to mature in Minnesota and Denver still lurking with Nikola Jokic. The most serious threat to the Thunder could be in Houston with the Rockets trading for Kevin Durant on Sunday afternoon.

Reporting for ESPN NBA Countdown on how Kevin Durant landed with the Houston Rockets: pic.twitter.com/kZo0Q8pcYr

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2025

The Phoenix Suns will get Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, and five second-round draft picks from Houston. Green is still a promising young scorer who led the Rockets with 21 points per game this season, but Durant’s much greater efficiency and veteran savvy make his new team a title contender. Following the acquisition of Durant, Houston’s title odds jumped from +1800 to +800 while Indiana’s fell from +1000 to +4000 after the Haliburton injury. OKC remains the favorite to repeat at +220.

LSU sweeps championship series after Coastal Carolina has two coaches ejected

The LSU Tigers have a little more experience winning championships than the Oklahoma City Thunder. On Sunday afternoon, LSU claimed its eighth College World Series title when it defeated Coastal Carolina 5-3 to polish off a two-game sweep of the championship series. With ace right-hander Jacob Morrison on the mound, the Chanticleers boosted their hopes of forcing a rubber game when Dean Mihos gave them an early lead with a solo shot in the second inning. However, the Tigers tied the game on Ethan Frey’s RBI double in the third and then rallied against Morrison for the four runs in the fourth that would end up deciding the title.

Craig Stanfield gave LSU the lead with a two-run single after his team loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch. Morrison got two key outs and was on his way to limiting the damage, but then Derek Curiel came through with another two-run single to put the Tigers up 5-1. Wells Sykes got two back for Coastal with a home run in the seventh, but Chase Shores dominated the final two innings on the bump to clinch the championship for LSU.

THE FINAL OUT THAT SECURED LSU AS THE MCWS CHAMPION 🏆 pic.twitter.com/K7ud0CbTJC

— ESPN (@espn) June 22, 2025

Just like with the NBA Finals, though, the great victory wasn’t the only story. Way back in the first inning, Coastal had its head coach Kevin Schnall and first base coach Matt Schilling ejected from the game by NCAA umpires. There better be a good reason for tossing two coaches from a championship game in the first inning, but it seems like the umpires let a little argument over balls and strikes get out of control.

“There’s 25,000 people there, and I vaguely hear a warning issued,” Schnall said. “As the head coach — I was an assistant for 24 years. As an assistant, you’re almost treated like a second-grade — second-level citizen. And you can’t say a word.

“As a head coach, I think it is your right to get an explanation of why we got warned. I’m 48 years old, and I shouldn’t be shooed by another grown man. When I come out to ask what the warning is, a grown man shooed me.”

Schnall went on to describe his perspective of the moment he got ejected.

“So at that point, I can now hear him say ‘it was a warning issued for arguing balls and strikes,'” Schnall continued. “At that point, I said, ‘because you missed three.’ At that point, ejected.

“If that warrants ejection, I’m the first one to stand here like a man and apologize. … But if that warranted an ejection, man there’d be a lot of ejections. As an umpire, I feel like it’s your job to manage the game — the national championship game — with some poise, some calmness and a little bit of tolerance.”

Should Schnall really be chirping the umpires about calls so early? Probably not, but it is the responsibility of the umpires to have a feel for the moment and not treat the deciding game of the College World Series like a regular season game in March. You’d like an umpire would have enough self-awareness to know that ejecting a coach in a spot like that is a bad reflections on one’s self. Maybe other umpires have that awareness, but this one did not.

Tommy Fleetwood still can’t win on the PGA TOUR

Even before Keegan Bradley came from behind to defeat Tommy Fleetwood and win the Travelers Championship on Sunday, there was a lot of talk in golf circles about Bradley pulling double duty at this September’s Ryder Cup. He had already been named a captain, but would he select himself to play in the competition if he deemed himself worthy? Bradley’s victory in Connecticut indicates that the United States could use his talents at Bethpage Black in the battle against Europe, but smart golf people scoff at the idea of someone becoming the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer led the Americans to victory in 1963.

“In my opinion there is just no way that you could be a captain nowadays of a Ryder Cup or a Presidents Cup and play,” said Trevor Immelman after commentating for CBS on Bradley’s latest victory.

“There are so many responsibilities at the feet of the captain. So many decisions that have to be made before the tournament and then during the week.

“You want your players to be single-minded, focused on themselves. To be focused on the high pressure situation they are in.

“But now you’ve got a guy in Keegan Bradley, who absolutely should be playing.”

If the US loses the Ryder Cup at home, it will either be because Bradley chose himself or didn’t choose himself. You can make sure of that. Meanwhile, this drama could have possibly been kicked down the road if not for Fleetwood making bogey on two of the last three holes to cost himself the tournament. The English golfer has won seven times on the DP World Tour and finished in the top five at every major, but still hasn’t won a PGA TOUR Event. That fact might not be as fascinating as Rory McIlroy’s chase for the career grand slam that he completed in April, but it’s still pretty wild for a player as accomplished as Fleetwood to be lacking a single win.

The Mets are back to awful

It was nice to get a break from the Mets’ losing streak when they hammered Philly with seven home runs and won 11-4 on Saturday night, but then Sunday came and the Mets returned to lifelessness with a 7-1 loss. David Peterson got off to a good start, but then he gave up a solo shot to Kyle Schwarber in the fourth inning and a three-run oppo taco by Edmundo Sosa soon followed.

430 feet‼️ pic.twitter.com/qUzONVTkvY

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 23, 2025

That was pretty much the game since New York only reached base four times in six and two thirds innings against Phillies southpaw Jesus Luzardo. It’s a good thing that Mark Vientos is on his way back from the injured list, because the Mets need something to change in the lineup. Ronnie Mauricio went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts to lower his batting average to .180, and he’s the obvious candidate for demotion. Luisangel Acuna is also not hitting and there isn’t a reason to leave Jeff McNeil out of the lineup going forward, especially considering he can play both infield and outfield.

The Mets are back home to face Atlanta tonight with Paul Blackburn on the hill against Spencer Schwellenbach. That is a pretty big pitching mismatch, so it’s time to get back to hitting dingers.

The Mets finally busted their seven-game losing streak on Saturday night with a triumphant 11-4 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. With President Trump announcing a military strike in the middle of the game, it reminded me of the Mets playing in Philadelphia on May 1, 2011 when Osama Bin Laden was killed. The Mets won that night as well, but they didn’t hit seven home runs like they did in the present day. Brandon Nimmo led the charge with a solo shot in the first, and he added another two innings later as part of back-to-back-to-back home runs with Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. The third-inning barrage was supplemented by Soto adding his second home run in the fifth inning, and the massive blast allowed the Mets to keep the lead for the rest of the night.

Griffin Canning got off to a slow start by allowing three hits in the first inning, including an RBI double by Nick Castellanos, that led to two runs. The Phillies added another run in the second inning when Otto Kemp doubled and came around to score on Brandon Marsh’s soft ground ball and a wild pitch that Francisco Alvarez failed to get his body in front of. That gave Philly a 3-1 lead, but the Mets answered with three straight home runs as well as Soto’s second bomb to go ahead 5-3 in the fifth. Canning failed the shutdown inning after Jeff McNeil and Brandon Nimmo nearly collided on a fly ball hit by Trea Turner. He would score on Alec Bohm’s RBI single to bring the Phillies within one, but Lindor answered with a two-out RBI double in the sixth that Castellanos overran badly in the right field corner.

Lindor adds on!

Make him an All-Star! 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJqQb7 pic.twitter.com/veAmQcxzCI

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 22, 2025

That sixth inning may have been more impressive than the three home runs in the third because in the sixth, the Mets got singles from both Francisco Alvarez and Ronny Mauricio to set the table. That seems like a very rare feat based on how those guys are playing. As for McNeil, it’s nice having him play center field because he gives the Mets some offense at the position, but it is asking so much for him to communicate with Nimmo properly? They’ve only played together for six years!

That Lindor double was very important because of how shaky New York’s bullpen has been lately, but it turns out that Huascar Brazoban would pitch two scoreless innings before Ryne Stanek and Chris Devenski shut the door in the eight and the ninth, respectively. The solid relief work didn’t stop the Mets from adding on, though. Jared Young joined the home run part to make the score 8-4 and Juan Soto followed with a two-RBI single to blow the game open. Alvarez crushed a solo shot in the ninth to cap the scoring.

I have an issue with people saying that the Mets’ seven-game skid was inevitable because even good teams lose games. There are plenty of good teams that go through a season without losing seven games in a row. Instead of moping about how “you can’t win ’em all,” the Mets had to start smashing opponents’ pitching, and that finally happened on Saturday.

In college ball, LSU defeated Coastal Carolina in Game 1 of the College World Series Championship with a 1-0 score thanks to Kade Anderson’s complete game shutout. With 10 strikeouts and five walks, it took Anderson 130 pitches to finish the job. That made me think if a major league starter would ever be allowed to throw 130 pitches, even in a World Series game. I think the babying of pitchers has less to do about avoiding injuries and more to do about pro coaches and front office people not wanting to lose their jobs in case a pitcher does get injured.

We should be in for a thrilling sports Sunday with LSU trying to clinch a national title at 2:30 PM and the NBA Finals wrapping up with Game 7 at 8:00 PM. There’s also the Mets trying to regain first place and the USMNT looking to go undefeated in Gold Cup group play at 7:00 PM.

It wasn’t surprising that the Mets extending their losing streak to seven games last night with Blade Tidwell starting at pitcher against Zack Wheeler. What was so disappointing about the 10-2 defeat in Philadelphia was that the Mets got past the starting pitching portion of the game and quickly tied the score 2-2 on back-to-back home runs by Pete Alonso and Jeff McNeil. They were the first two batters faced by Taijuan Walker when he relieved Wheeler in the top of the sixth. The Mets seemed to have momentum on their side with Wheeler gone and Jose Butto shutting the Phillies down the fifth and the sixth, but the game turned in the seventh because Reed Garrett could not get anyone out.

That's the two for one special pic.twitter.com/TWOhnXzaI9

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 21, 2025

Brandon Marsh, who had previously given the Phillies a 2-0 lead with an RBI single off of Jose Castillo, led off the frame with a double, and he was quickly doubled home by Trea Turner to give Philadelphia the lead. Garrett then walked Kyle Schwarber and allowed an RBI single to Alec Bohm before being replaced by Justin Garza without recording an out. Garza has been solid for the Mets so far, but he couldn’t stop Nick Castellanos and Bryson Stott from blowing the game open with big RBI hits.

The Mets had a chance to get to Wheeler early after Brandon Nimmo singled in the first inning and moved to third on walks by Juan Soto and Pete Alonso. However, Wheeler got Jeff McNeil to ground into a double play to end the inning and the Mets would not get a better chance to put a dent in Wheeler’s ERA. It’s tough to say that a play or two might have swung the game when the Mets lost by eight runs, but I think the Mets lost a chance at a rally in the top  of the seventh when Brandon Nimmo hit a sharp one-hopper to Trea Turner. The throw to first was a little high and wide, forcing Otto Kemp to stretch at first base. Nimmo was called out, but the replay made it seem like Kemp was off the base by an inch when he received the throw. The Mets let the play slide without a review and Juan Soto ground out to Kemp on the next play to end the inning.

If that play was overturned, Kemp is probably holding Nimmo on first during the next play and Soto’s ball could have gotten by him to start a Mets rally. Instead, New York went down in order and the Phillies scored six runs in the bottom of the inning. These huge rallies for opponents are becoming an issue for the Mets during this losing streak as their pitching regresses.

Speaking of pitching, Blade Tidwell went three scoreless innings before allowing the bases to be loaded in the fourth on two singles and a walk. He might have gotten out of that jam if Kemp’s ground ball had been a little faster, but he busted the Mets’ double play attempt by beating the throw to first and Marsh followed with his RBI hit off of Castillo. Even if Tidwell didn’t allow a run, though, he probably still doesn’t get through Philly’s lineup a second time and that brings into question his future as a starting pitcher. He’s probably more of a reliever, especially on a Mets team that can afford to pay more proven rotation guys instead of bringing Tidwell along slowly. The Mets should have the pitching depth to avoid using Tidwell in an important game, but Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill couldn’t stay healthy with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas already on the shelf.

The Mets should have a better shot at the Phillies with Griffin Canning on the mound tonight against rookie right-hander Mick Abel.

I really thought that the Thunder were going to take care of business in Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Everything was going according to plan when Oklahoma City jumped out to a 10-2, but after those first four minutes, the Indiana Pacers dominated the game like they have not dominated before in these NBA Finals. Pascal Siakam and company led by three at the end of the first quarter and then outscored OKC by 19 in the second. At halftime I was hoping for a Thunder comeback so I could mock Tyrese Haliburton with the choke sign, but OKC never got close and Mark Daigneault pulled his starters at the start of the fourth quarter with the deficit at 30. The Pacers went on to win 108-91.

The Thunder ended up shooting 8-for-30 from beyond the arc, but most of the makes were from bench guys in the final period. I think OKC only made a single three-point shot while the game was competitive while Indiana got long-range accuracy from Obi Toppin (4-for-7) and Andrew Nimrod (3-for-5). Those guys combined for 37 points on the night and were Indiana top two scorers. That goes to show you how deep of a team the Pacers are and also what an overrated bum Haliburton is. He was probably the fifth-best player on his own team in Game 6. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Indiana would be better off having Haliburton back up T.J. McConnell and not the other way around. McConnell was at it again on Thursday night with 12 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals in just 24 minutes. He is more than just a pest; he is a difference-maker.

The Thunder has to get its act together in Game 7 and win at home like it did in Game 2 and Game 5. I can’t deal with watching the Pacers win an NBA title after beating the Knicks because of the luckiest shot in league history. I’m having a hard enough time watching the Mets play worse and worse every night while blowing their five-game lead in the National League East in a week’s time.

Thursday night was another horror show in Atlanta with the Mets unable to do anything on offense after the third inning and Clay Holmes losing the strike zone in the fourth and the fifth. Holmes walked Matt Olson to begin the fourth inning and saw him score after singles by Marcell Ozuna and Ozzie Albies. In the fifth Holmes started with a walk of Ronald Acuna Jr. and later walked Olson again to load the bases before walking Drake Baldwin to force in the go-ahead run. Huascar Brazoban relieved Holmes, but he was no better. Brazoban walked Albies to give Atlanta a 3-1 lead and then allowed Olson to hit a bases-clearing double in the sixth to blow the game open. The Braves won 7-1 to sweep the Mets and hand them a sixth straight loss.

Bases clear courtesy of Matty O!

🌟 https://t.co/tF2BPq04Q9 🌟 pic.twitter.com/eQFQQDFdQW

— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) June 20, 2025

The Mets’ offense has been putrid lately with zero or one runs scored in three of the last four games, but it’s also disturbing how their pitching has fallen off since the injuries to Kodai Senga and Tylor Megill. Holmes, Griffin Canning, and Paul Blackburn have disappointed lately, and now the Mets have called up Blade Tidwell to make a spot start in the crucial series opener at Philadelphia. In Tidwell’s lone major league appearance, he allowed six runs in three and two-thirds innings at St. Louis on May 4. Zack Wheeler is on the hill for the Phillies, so they are pretty big favorites with the division lead on the line. Wheeler has been excellent as usual lately with six innings pitched and one earned run allowed in each of his last two starts.

GOOOAAAL FOR THE @USMNT! 🇺🇸

Chris Richards scores off the set piece! 👏 pic.twitter.com/tvQbB6DBkq

— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 20, 2025

The USMNT may be playing against inferior competition, but at least it has won two straight matches and punched a ticket to the Gold Cup quarterfinals. Chris Richards broke through in the 63rd minute last night against Saudi Arabia on a brilliant feed from Sebastian Berhalter and the Yanks won 1-0. Over at ESPN, Ryan O’Hanlon wrote an interesting story about why the USMNT is such a mess right now. It has a lot to do with many of the players having full-time soccer jobs overseas and playing in dozens of matches each year before even considering the national team.

There’s a vision of a unified American soccer model… The players add up to something greater than the sum of the parts, and everything makes sense every time they take the field.

This will never happen. How do I know this? Because it hasn’t happened anywhere else. You can’t achieve this when all of your players are spending 75% of their time doing the same job for someone else. Although the situation arose by accident, the current constraints on the international game force it into dysfunction.

O’Hanlon writes about how in the past the national team matches were the most important events for all of the players because they weren’t playing in the Champions League or other important club tournaments. Now that the US has a bunch of talent in Europe, many players have to balance their priorities, and there is not much continuity on the roster. The hope is that all of the best American players come together and form a somewhat cohesive unit at the World Cup next year.

The Mets face the Braves tonight in the final game of a three-game series in Atlanta. New York is looking to avoid a sweep after blowing a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning of the opener and getting completely shut down by Chris Sale last night. Even if the Mets win tonight, they will be on very little sleep for the series opener in Philadelphia on Friday night because the plane probably won’t even take off until close to midnight. Why don’t the Mets get an afternoon start on getaway day?! The June Swoon continues getting worse.

The Mets will have Clay Holmes on the bump against Spencer Strider tonight. After striking out 281 batters during his sophomore season of 2023, Strider missed almost all of 2024 to a surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow. Plus, he has already spent two stint on the injured list this season. Strider hasn’t looked much like a dominant strikeout pitcher this season, but he was more like his old self during his last start against the Rockies. In that one, he pitched six shutout innings with 13 strikeouts and one walk. No doubt Braves fans will be talking themselves into the old Strider being back, in which case he could destroy the Mets like Sale did.

Holmes has been as steady as they come for the Mets. He hasn’t dominated the opposition, but he keeps the Mets in every game. During his last start, he held the Rays to one run in five innings, but then Carlos Mendoza took him out of the game with just 79 pitches thrown because he was apparently tired from pitching in the thin Denver air six days prior. That’s right, not only did Mendoza take out a guy early who had grown accustomed to throwing more than 90 pitches with regularity, but he did so while that pitcher was on FIVE DAYS OF REST. Because of one start in Denver. It’s unbelievable how soft the Mets are. Anyway, of course Paul Blackburn and Max Krannick combined to blow the Mets’ 5-1 lead as soon as Holmes was removed. That was the loss that started this five-game skid.

Series finale. #LGM pic.twitter.com/WI6wTbubBB

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 19, 2025

Francisco Alvarez is back in the lineup after Luis Torrens had a horrible game last night. Ronny Mauricio is still in there hitting below the Mendoza line at third base because of Brett Baty’s injured groin that the Mets still don’t know what to do with. The good news is that Starling Marte has been useful lately with seven hits in his last four games. This lineup goes six deep, but those last three are totally feeble.

We also have the NBA Finals possibly concluding tonight with the Thunder holding a 3-2 series lead over the Pacers. Indiana finally looks like it has met its match after suffering consecutive defeats for the first time in these Playoffs. Plus, Tyrese Haliburton made zero field goals in Game 5. It will be interesting to see how the Pacers respond at home.

Plus, the United States is taking on Saudi Arabia in Gold Cup action. The Yanks are heavily favored after they crushed Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 to end a four-game losing streak. I need the US to keep winning so that the World Cup next year isn’t totally depressing.

How about those Florida Panthers? They crushed the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to claim the Cup for the second straight year. They’re the first back-to-back champs since the Tampa Bay Lightning won in 2020 and 2021. Okay, that wasn’t so long ago, but the more important stat is that a Canadian team hasn’t held the Cup since 1993. Shoutout to my Rangers for starting the streak of American victories by defeating the Canucks in the 1994 Final. I don’t feel so bad about losing the 4 Nations Face-Off anymore.

THE MOMENT THE @FLAPANTHERS BECAME BACK-TO-BACK #STANLEYCUP CHAMPIONS! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/oYlia49VYJ

— NHL (@NHL) June 18, 2025

Sam Reinhart scored four goals in the clinching game (with the last two coming with an empty net) and Sergei Bobrovsky didn’t allow a goal until the championship was in hand with five minutes to play. Still, it was Sam Bennett who won the Conn Smythe Trophy with 15 goals and seven assists in the Playoffs.

The Panthers’ victory opens up two big story lines for next season. First, can Florida become the first NHL three-peat since the Oilers dynasty in the 1980s? And second, will Connor McDavid ever win the Stanley Cup? McDavid is the best player in the game today, but after falling short of immortality for the second year in a row, every hockey fan will be focused on his quest for glory going forward.

On the diamond, the Mets and Yankees continued to struggle. The Yankees finally broke a ridiculous 30-inning scoreless streak when Jazz Chisholm homered off of Angels starter Jack Kochanowicz in the second inning. The Bombers even took a 2-1 lead in the fourth when Cody Bellinger hit a solo shot of his own. However, an inexplicable error by Anthony Volpe in the eighth turned an inning-ending double play into a game-winning RBI for Jo Adell.

ok so we have the lead 😅 pic.twitter.com/7Dg8Y5I73I

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) June 19, 2025

The Mets also played boneheaded defense in their 5-0 loss at Atlanta. One night after Francisco Alvarez cost the Mets a chance to escape the 10th inning when he threw to the wrong base with Luke Williams stuck in a pickle, New York’s other catcher Luis Torrens fielded a foul ball with his mask (that’s illegal) to score one run for Atlanta and set up another to score on Marcell Ozuna’s sac fly. The only silver lining is that the Mets didn’t cross the plate for the second time in three games, so Torrens’ error didn’t matter very much.

I don’t think anyone is cursing their defense more than Arkansas fans, though. The Hogs led 5-3 in the bottom of the ninth thanks to Justin Thomas Jr.’s two-RBI single in the top of the frame. LSU put two runners on in their half before Steven Milam hit a hard ground ball to shortstop. It looked like Wehiwa Aloy had a chance to start a game-ending double play, but he chose to get the force out at third instead even though the tying run was coming from first base. The next batter Luis Hernandez hit a line drive to left field that Charles Davalan was in position to catch before he slipped and fell, allowing both runners to score. To cap it off, the walk-off single hit by Jared Jones  bounced off the glove of Cam Kozeal, the Arkansas second baseman who grew up in Omaha dreaming of playing in the College World Series. Pour one out for the Razorbacks because that is a heartbreaking way to lose a ballgame.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! 😱#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @LSUbaseball pic.twitter.com/BFKdJ08FkM

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 19, 2025

LSU’s comeback win means it is headed to the CWS championship series vs. Coastal Carolina while Arkansas is eliminated. The Chanticleers punched their ticket with an 11-3 stomping of Louisville on Wednesday afternoon.

Oh boy, what a great day it is to not be a fan of the Indiana Pacers. Not only did they lose 120-109 at Oklahoma City to suffer consecutive defeats for the first time in these NBA Playoffs, but Tyrese Haliburton proved the haters right by missing all six of his field goal attempts! Is this the same guy with the chip on his shoulder who was proving everyone who said he was overrated wrong? There’s no way that guy would have more fouls plus turnovers (six) than points (four) in a pivotal NBA Finals game. What a treat this is.

Meanwhile, the real MVP of the Pacers Pascal Siakam scored 28 points with five assists and three steals to try to keep his team in the game. Indiana trailed for almost the entire game, but it got within two points of Oklahoma City when Siakam hit a three-point shot with 8:30 to go in the fourth quarter. The Thunder weren’t rattled, though. Jalen Williams hit a three of his own and then Andrew Nimrod threw the ball away to get Cason Wallace a breakaway dunk. Suddenly, Oklahoma City was back up by seven and it would not be  one-possession game again. Williams had himself a night with 40 points on 14-for-25 shooting while Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had to settle for 31 points and 10 assists. Just like in Game 1, the Thunder forced over 20 turnovers, but this time they didn’t let Indiana of the hook. With one more win, Oklahoma City will claim its first NBA title since the franchise moved from Seattle.

All 19 Ks from Wood. Unreal. #MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @RazorbackBSB pic.twitter.com/hOukHeayWi

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 16, 2025

There was also big news at the College World Series as Murray State’s Cinderella story came to an end. The poor Racers were no-hit by Arkansas pitcher Gage Wood, who might have had a perfect game if he didn’t hit a batter with a pitch to start the eighth inning. Wood not only threw the first no-hitter at the CWS since 1960, but he may have had one of the best games ever for a pitcher in a big spot. He struck out 19 batters with no walks while going the distance on 119 pitches. Thank goodness no-hitters still mean something to someone. If this was a big league game, Wood would have been pulled due to a high pitch count while he still had a chance at perfection. The Razorbacks’ 3-0 victory means they’ll face UCLA tonight in another elimination game. The winner of that one will have to defeat LSU twice in a row to get to the championship series.

You know who didn’t throw a no-hitter on Monday? Shohei Ohtani, who pitched in an MLB game for the first time since 2023. He allowed a run on two singles and a sac fly, but then he stepped in the batter’s box and racked up a couple of RBI hits to lead the Dodgers to a 6-3 win over San Diego.

Released today! The all-new 2025 MLB All-Star Game caps and jerseys, separate designs revealed for both the game itself and the Home Run Derby 🌟⚾🧢

Pics, details, and more in my post here: https://t.co/HKl48czClp pic.twitter.com/jzikRsYCEn

— Chris Creamer | SportsLogos.net (@sportslogosnet) June 16, 2025

Also in baseball, MLB unveiled the All-Star uniforms and we are finally returning to the players wearing home white and road greys during the Midsummer Classic. There are still special All-Star Game jerseys, but they will be worn during the Home Run Derby instead of the main event. The bad news is that Seattle and Tampa Bay don’t have grey road uniforms, so their players are going to stand out a lot. Even when Rob Manfred gets something right, it’s not totally right.

https://t.co/au4xbTyT0u pic.twitter.com/UMFqpYl05B

— Aaron Yorke (@AaronPYorke) June 16, 2025

Finally, Joey Chestnut has decided to stop being a veggie dog wuss and return to the National’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest this year. What a win for America.

It’s not often that trades between sports teams catch us completely off guard. Usually there are weeks of rumors ahead of the deal because we know that a player is on the trade block or just know that it makes sense for a losing team to trade away its star player who has just a few months left on his contract. That trend might be reversing, though. Not only did we get blindsided by the insane Luka Doncic trade over the winter, but on Sunday the Red Sox shocked the baseball world by trading Rafael Devers to the Giants.

Full trade: The San Francisco Giants are acquiring Rafael Devers from the Boston Red Sox for Jordan Hicks, Kyle Harrison, James Tibbs and Jose Bello, according to sources familiar with the deal.

— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) June 15, 2025

It had been known that Devers and the Red Sox weren’t on great terms after the team asked him to move to designated hitter upon acquiring Alex Bregman. After the season started, Boston had to ask Devers to change positions again since its regular first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury. Devers never ended up playing first base for Boston, but no one thought the team would go so far as to trade him away. The Red Sox might have been disappointing compared to preseason expectations, but they were still in the thick of a Postseason race and Devers was hitting .272/.401/.504 with 15 home runs and 58 RBI. The star slugger was also in the second year of a 10-year, $313.5 million contract. Surely this little argument about what position to play was just a bump in the road.

Nope. Boston sent Devers to San Francisco on Sunday night. The Giants will take care of the entire contract and send southpaw starter Kyle Harrison to Boston along with flamethrowing swingman Jordan Hicks, outfield prospect James Tibbs III and Rookie League pitcher Jose Bello. Harrison has a lot of potential, but in 24 starts last year he had a 4.56 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, so he’s far from a finished product. Hicks has been in the majors for six years now, and he’s always been intriguing because he throws harder than almost anyone, but he still doesn’t prevent runs at a high level. I like Tibbs a lot because he was just drafted last season and is already showing a promising strikeout-to-walk ratio in the minors to go with 12 home runs this season. Bello is only 20 years old, but he has 28 strikeouts and just three walks in 18 innings pitched this year.

It’s an underwhelming prospect package, but the Red Sox were clearly eager to get out of the Devers business. They did not want to be stuck with a player for nine years who they clearly saw as being selfish. This is a guy that the Red Sox were building their franchise around, so if he wasn’t going to be a good leader, it was time to get out, no matter where the team was in the standings. The Giants are a big winner if they can get along with their new star player. With Matt Chapman recently going in the injured list, San Francisco was trying to keep pace with the Dodgers while relying on Willy Adames and his .624 OPS in the middle of the lineup. Devers will provide a huge boost to the offense.

Earlier in the day, the Memphis Grizzlies agreed to send Desmond Bane to the Orlando Magic in exchange for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cole Anthony, four first-round draft picks, and a first-round picks swap. The internet’s first reaction seemed to be, “The Magic gave up HOW many first-round picks for Desmond Bane?!” I was thinking that as well, but it’s pretty comparable to what the Knicks gave up for Mikal Bridges, and Bane was better last year than Bridges was in his final year with Brooklyn. He’s not a household name, but Bane is an efficient scorer who can do a little bit of everything. He averaged 19 points, five assists, and six rebounds per game last season while shooting 48 percent from the field, 39 percent from beyond the arc, and 89 percent from the stripe. The Magic were the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA this season, so that skill in particular is a key factor in the Bane acquisition.

Brian Windhorst explains that getting out of KCP’s contract is another benefit for Orlando, while the Grizzlies are looking to push back their window of contention after getting swept by Oklahoma City in the first round of the Playoffs.

"The next question is: What about Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr.?"@WindhorstESPN breaks down Desmond Bane being traded to the Magic ✍️ pic.twitter.com/IewXKxwjEj

— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 15, 2025

Windhorst suggests that the Bane trade could be the start of a major rebuild in Memphis, but Tim Bontemps believes that the team is still interested in getting extensions done for Jaren Jackson and Ja Morant.

Sources told ESPN that the Grizzlies are not looking to deal either of their two remaining franchise cornerstones. The team has spent the past several months clearing salary cap space to complete a renegotiation and extension of Jackson’s contract this offseason, preventing him from hitting free agency in 2026. The belief is that an extension will get done, sources said. But the Bane trade gives Memphis an avenue to give Jackson even more on that deal and lock him in long term.

Bontemps also says that the Magic sees itself as a major threat to win the East with Jayson Tatum presumably out for the season. Even with Tatum on the court for most of the Eastern Semifinals this year, the conference proved to be more wide open than many people previously thought. It’s not hard to imagine Orlando being next year’s Indiana with Bane joining the young and energetic core of Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs.

I hate giving up so many picks for a guy who isn’t a superstar, but it’s clear that the Magic already has some young pieces in place and thinks it can challenge for the East title right away. The move definitely makes me worry about my Knicks’ ability to return to the East Finals.

After four grueling days of golf at Oakmont Country Club outside of Pittsburgh, the U.S. Open named a new champion on Sunday evening, and his name is J.J. Spaun. That’s the same guy who had his heart broken at THE PLAYERS Championship earlier this year when he lost to Rory McIlroy in a Monday playoff. It’s also the same guy who had just one PGA TOUR win to his name before Sunday and the same guy who appeared doomed when he made bogey on five of the first six holes to star the final round.

Oakmont demands grit, though, and Spaun proved that he had it after shooting 40 on the front nine. A birdie on the par-five 12th hole sparked a life-changing rally from Spaun that brought him from two strokes over par to one stroke under and made him a major champion. While Spaun rose to the occasion, Sam Burns and Adam Scott melted down on the back nine with Burns making double bogey on the 11th and 15th to go eight strokes over par for the day and four over for the tournament. Scott was a miserable six strokes over on the back nine with just one birdie on the day, tumbling from second place after three rounds to a 12th place finish.

WHAT A PUTT!!!!

J.J. SPAUN WINS THE U.S. OPEN!!!! pic.twitter.com/EWdYQeDAzF

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025

The struggles of his peers makes Spaun’s finish all the more impressive, and he clinched the title in style with a 65-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole when he only needed par to win. That brilliant shot made him the only man in the U.S. Open field to shoot under par for the tournament. Even the great Scottie Scheffler finished the U.S. Open four strokes over par after shooting an even-par 70 on Sunday.

There weren’t any NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final games on Sunday night because Adam Silver is incompetent, but there was still plenty of sports action during the day. Arizona was eliminated from the College World Series despite leading Louisville 3-2 after seven innings. The Cardinals blasted their way past Arizona after trailing all day by scoring six runs in the 8th inning.

Louisville LEADS 😤#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @LouisvilleBSB pic.twitter.com/xaLsptXaRn

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 15, 2025

Zion Rose had the critical hit with an opposite-field single with the bases loaded that gave Louisville the lead. It’s safe to say we don’t need to worry about any anti-Zionist sentiment on the Louisville campus these days. In the nightcap, Coastal Carolina jumped out to any early lead like Arizona did, but the Chanticleers held onto it and won 6-2 thanks to a dominant outing from Jacob Morrison. He set down 16 Oregon State batters in a row after he allowed a solo shot to Easton Talt in the third inning. Morrison ended up allowing just five hits and the one run in seven and two-thirds innings.

Just doing his thing#MCWS x 🎥 ESPN / @CoastalBaseball pic.twitter.com/qIHKbRQlZv

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 16, 2025

Coastal is now in the driver’s seat of one double elimination bracket with a 2-0 record. Action will heat up in the other bracket on Monday with Arkansas trying to eliminate super Cinderella Murray State in the day game before LSU clashes with UCLA at night. In the pro game, both the Mets and Yankees were shut out on Sunday. The Mets were unable to take advantage of seven walks offered by Tampa Bay pitching while the Rays pounded Griffin Canning for six runs in just four and a third frames. The Yankees’ 2-0 loss in Boston featured a great start by Brayan Bello and a third straight three-strikeout game from Aaron Judge. It’s time to start asking if Judge is happy in the Yankees organization. Just like the Mets, the Yankees were coming off a sweep before getting swept this weekend.

It was another boring day for the Club World Cup with Palmeiras and FC Porto playing to a scoreless draw at MetLife Stadium. The other three matches all appeared to be blowouts with Paris Saint-Germain beating Atletico Madrid 4-0 and Bayern Munich clobbering Auckland City 10-0. However, Seattle Sounders just got on the board against Brazilian side Botafogo to make that score 2-1.

Sounders will hope to represent American better than the USMNT, but even that sorry group couldn’t mess up a game against Trinidad and Tobago in the Gold Cup. The Yanks won their opening match 5-0 after four straight losses split between friendlies and Concacaf Nations League. Maybe the easy win will propel the USMNT to a tournament win and it can start building momentum for next year’s World Cup.

For a minute there, it looked like I might have to be a Thunder in Seven guy. The Pacers led Game 4 of the NBA Finals by 10 points late in the third quarter and it looked like we might be subject to more “ACTUALLY, Tyrese Haliburton is underrated” talk. Thankfully, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led Oklahoma City on a 12-1 run in the final three minutes that lifted the team to a 111-104 victory despite the Thunder shooting 3-for-16 from beyond the arc. When you win with those shooting numbers, you know you played with grit, gumption, and heart. OKC only had 11 assists on 37 field goals in this game, with zero coming from SGA for the first time this season. That’s another area where the Thunder can improve in Game 5, but they’re unlikely to get more from Alex Caruso, who poured in 20 points and five steals from the bench. On Indiana’s bench, T.J. McConnell was limited to eight points and zero steals after his stronger performance in Game 3 and Bennedict Mathurin scored eight points while missing some key free throws down the stretch. Maybe these games really are decided by the role players. That would be good news for Indiana since Haliburton is not going to outplay SGA very often, but it’s good to know that OKC can get some scoring help beyond its big three playmakers.

So what else happened in the sports world on Friday and Saturday?

The Panthers are one win away from repeating as Stanley Cup champions. They tried to repeat their bold strategy of going up three goals. It didn’t work in Game 4, but it sure did in Game 5! The big difference was Florida not adding the third goal until early in the third period, when Brad Marchand scored his second of the night by going through Calvin Pickard’s legs on a breakaway that was sparked by Eetu Luostarinen. Edmonton ended up scoring twice before the game ended, but the Panthers kept adding on with a wrist shot from Sam Reinhart and an empty-netter from Luostarinen to win 5-2.

Opening games are done at the College World Series. Coastal Carolina scored three runs in the eighth inning to defeat underdog Arizona 7-4. Also on Friday, Oregon State bounced back from a 9th inning meltdown to walk off Louisville and win 4-3 on Gavin Turley’s RBI double. On Saturday, Kade Anderson pitched seven innings of one-run ball and LSU’s three-run rally in the second inning stood up as the Tigers defeated Arkansas 4-1. Super Cinderella Murray State scored four answered runs after falling behind UCLA 6-0, but the Racers were shut down by Bruins closer Easton Hawk in the 9th.

The Mets lost twice to Tampa Bay. New York was in great shape through five innings on Friday night, but then Carlos Mendoza pulled Clay Holmes from the game even though he had only thrown 79 pitches. Paul Blackburn and Max Krannick combined to allow six runs in the 6th inning and Juan Soto’s game-tying home run bid in the 8th died on the warning track, allowing Tampa Bay to hold on for a 7-5 win. The Rays exploded for another big inning on Saturday evening, this time scoring five times in the 4th off of Tylor Megill. Three of those runs came with two outs following Megill’s botched attempted to field a bunt. The Mets fell behind 6-2 in that frame and only scored two more runs in the ballgame, losing 8-4.

Two international soccer tournaments got underway. Both the FIFA Club World Cup and Concacaf Gold Cup are being played in the United States at the same time. The Club World Cup got off to a very boring start with Messi and Inter Miami playing to a scoreless draw with Egyptian side Al Ahly. There were some pretty gnarly saves in this game, but nobody likes a 0-0 result. The Gold Cup has been a bit more fun so far with Mexico holding a 3-2 edge over the Dominican Republic in the 80th minute.

Just like Thunder in Five before it, Panthers in Five went down in flames on Thursday night with Florida blowing a 3-0 lead and falling to the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in overtime. The good news is that we are now guaranteed at least two more games in this series and just got to see one of the most thrilling games in the history of the Stanley Cup Final. It started with a dominant first period by Florida with Matthew Tkachuk scoring a pair of power play goals and Anton Lundell adding an even-strength score in the final minute when Edmonton turned over the puck behind its own net.

The second period saw three Edmonton goals with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Darnell Nurse flipping the puck over Sergei Bobrovsky’s shoulder and Vasily Podkolzin netting the equalizer on a backhand shot that was set up by Nurse’s wraparound try. Just as important as all the scoring, though, was backup goalie Calvin Pickard stonewalling the Panthers and keeping their total at three while the Oilers caught up. Florida stayed aggressive throughout the game, with one of its best chances coming midway through the second period when Lundell intercepted a pass on the forecheck and skated into the slot with no one but Pickard in front of him. Pickard came up with a monumental stop to keep the score 3-1, and Nurse scored the Oilers’ second goal of the night a minute later.

VASILY PODKOLZIN! TIE GAME! 😱 #StanleyCup

THIS. IS. WILD.

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/2uqU8kA6gX

— NHL (@NHL) June 13, 2025

After Edmonton had tied the game, the Panthers controlled the action and looked to be on the way to scoring the game’s seventh goal, but they were denied over and over. Even with Pickard leaving the net wide open thanks to a brilliant pass from Carter Verhaeghe to Tkachuk, defenseman Mattias Ekholm stepped up and acted as a second goalie to keep the go-ahead goal off the board. Instead, it was the Oilers who broke the tie with Jake Walman slamming home a massive slap shot from the right circle after a Florida own-zone turnover caused by Edmonton’s Mattias Janmark.

It was setting up to be a supremely frustrating night for Florida, but after 40 scoreless minutes, it finally broke through when Sam Reinhart scored with just 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Reinhart tried to feed Tkachuk in the slot, but the puck trickled back to him on the left side of the net, where he slid the puck past Pickard’s pad for the cathartic equalizer. Reinhart’s score was the second latest game-tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history with the latest coming just days ago when Corey Perry tied Game 2 with just 18 seconds on the clock. This series is going down in the books one or way or the other.

LEON DOES IT AGAIN!!!! 🤩

HIS @ENERGIZER OVERTIME WINNER EVENS THE SERIES AT 2-2! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/ZtXXQzYge3

— NHL (@NHL) June 13, 2025

Just like how Edmonton lost after Perry’s dramatic goal in Game 2, Florida would fall in this one when Leon Draisaitl attempted a one-handed backhand pass to Corey Perry on the edge of the crease. Instead of finding Perry, though, the puck deflected off of Florida’s sliding Niko Mikkola and got by Bobrovksy, who could not close the five hole in time. It was Draisaitl’s fourth overtime winner of these Playoffs and his second of the series. He is mega clutch, but so was Pickard, who made another incredible save minutes earlier when Mikkola fed Sam Bennett for a one-timer from the right circle. Pickard got just enough of the puck with his glove to deflect it off of the crossbar and keep Edmonton alive. That is just torture for Florida fans.

THIS! GAME! 😱🔥 pic.twitter.com/Xc19vXLPHh

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 13, 2025

Just like that, we are set up for an incredible weekend of sports with Oklahoma City trying to even the NBA Finals against Indiana on Friday night before the Stanley Cup Final shifts to Edmonton for Game 5 on Saturday night. Plus, we’ve got the U.S. Open during the day, and Oakmont is already making fools of all of the players out there.

Rough start for Rory on Friday.

It's an opening double bogey. He's now +6 for the championship. pic.twitter.com/WJWKSrr7Nm

— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 13, 2025

As a New York Rangers fan, I’m often left feeling like a fool, but on Thursday the franchise did the responsible thing and traded Chris Kreider to Anaheim in order to create some cap space for a veteran squad that missed the Playoffs this season. Kreider has been an amazing player for the Rangers during his 13-year career and he is the team’s all-time leader in postseason goals with 48, but he is also 34 years old and carries a cap hit of $6.5 million for each of the next two seasons. New York didn’t get back much in mediocre prospect Carey Terrance and a pick swap that exchanges the Ducks’ third-rounder for the Rangers’ fourth-rounder this year. This is all about dumping salary and getting younger to speed up the rebuild process. Soooooo exciting.

I may have lost with Florida and lost a franchise player with Kreider, but at least the Mets won. They beat Washington 4-3 to complete a second straight series sweep, but Kodai Senga injured his hamstring and Ryne Stanek and Edwin Diaz nearly blew a four-run lead in the ninth, so it was pretty maddening as far as wins go. This is why the phrase “I’ll take it” was invented. My day could have been a lot worse had Diaz not recovered in time to get a pair of ground outs after the Nationals put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

I just knew the Pacers were going to make the NBA Finals as painful as possible. I just knew it and I couldn’t bring myself to accept it. Everyone basketball mind I talked to said that the Pacers would not be dominated by Oklahoma City like the sportsbooks expected. Indiana was going to continue to defy the odds, and that is what has happened. I thought this series would be different because of how well the Thunder bounced back from their Game 1 loss, but Indiana took back control in Game 3 with a 116-107 victory despite trailing by four early in the fourth quarter.

Tyrese Haliburton came one rebound short of a triple-double with 22 points and 11 assists, but the real heroes for Indiana were Bennedict Mathurin and T.J. McConnell. While Oklahoma City only got 18 points from its entire bench, Mathurin scored 27 himself on 9-for-12 shooting while McConnell was a pest who looked like he wanted this game more than anyone else in the arena. He scored 10 points in just 15 minutes with five assists and five steals. Three times McConnell caught the Thunder napping and turned a typical inbounds play after an Indiana bucket into additional points for the Pacers. Those types of steals should not happen once in a game that means everything, let alone three times.

"It's hard not to root for a guy like that."

Tyrese Haliburton on T.J. McConnell 👏 https://t.co/NO7ZbuZuIG pic.twitter.com/UNcz2d3DNH

— NBA (@NBA) June 12, 2025

Listen to Haliburton talk about how scrappy and gritty McConnell is. This is a guy who should be happy to have a couple of minutes in garbage time, and yet he is having a major impact off the bench.

It’s frustrating enough to watch Indiana continuing to have success after the Knicks came so close to beating them, but what’s also frustrating is how this team is winning. The Pacers didn’t make a big move in the offseason to try and move up in the Eastern Conference pecking order. For the most part, they stuck with their guys from last year’s run to the Conference Finals and hung out in the middle of the standings all season. The front office didn’t panic after a slow start and when the Playoffs rolled around, the Pacers were a cohesive unit on which everyone knew their roles and was willing to sacrifice for the team. That makes me think that the Knicks would have been better off sticking with Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo instead of trading them for the flashy Karl-Anthony Towns. There are not many things more frustrating than thinking you were better off just doing nothing.

Then, after the season the Knicks doubled down on change and fired Tom Thibodeau without having a plan for a new head coach. While the Pacers embraced continuity and toughness following their win over the Knicks in the 2024 Eastern Conference Semifinals, the Knicks have twice swung for the fences with big moves. The first one just resulted in another heartbreaking loss to Indiana, and it’s hard to imagine the second one landing the Knicks a coach who was better suited to the franchise than Thibodeau.

The only thing to do now if hope that the Knicks come to their senses and hire Mike Malone while rooting for the Thunder to win the Finals in six games. Neither of those things will get the Knicks closer to a championship, but it’s what we have. We also have a Stanley Cup Final game tonight with the Panthers trying to take a 3-1 lead over Edmonton. I have been going pretty hard for Florida in this series, so hopefully it works out better than the basketball has so far.

In other good news, the College World Series starts on Friday and that means one thing: Jell-O Shots!

Not every school can say they made the CWS on their fourth postseason appearance but @RacersBaseball is coming to Omaha! Fun fact: Omaha's CBA team mascot was the Racers so some old heads probably already have gear! #roadtoroccos #cws2025 pic.twitter.com/R83QP4VxhM

— CWS Jello Shot Challenge (@CWSShotBoard) June 10, 2025

Imagine Penn State getting its name written on this board one day? If Murray State can do it, anyone can!

I really thought that the Knicks had a plan when they fired Tom Thibodeau after their loss to Indiana in the Eastern Conference Finals. Mike Malone had been let go by the Nuggets in April, and he was someone who knew how to win a championship with a versatile big man. However, in the past few days, it has become apparent that the Knicks have no idea who their next head coach will be. They’ve reportedly been shut down from interviewing a bunch of guys who already hold NBA jobs.

On Wednesday morning, the Mavs firmly rejected the Knicks’ request to speak with Jason Kidd, sources told ESPN.

Kidd joins Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Minnesota Timberwolves coach Chris Finch as those whose teams have denied permission to interview with New York, sources confirmed.

Since the Knicks brought Thibodeau aboard in 2020, they’ve made the Playoffs in four out of five seasons and won 50 games in each of the last two seasons. This year, the Knicks defeated the defending champion Celtics to reach their first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000. But Thibodeau wasn’t good enough because of the Knicks’ collapse in Game 1 against the Pacers that featured Aaron Nesmith becoming automatic from three-point range and OG Anunoby fumbling away an open layup that could have put the game away.

I wasn’t totally shocked when the Knicks dismissed Thibodeau because I’ve become desensitized to bizarre NBA firings. It would be nice if the Knicks were different, though. Now instead of just having to tweak a roster that was a couple of games away from a Finals berth, the Knicks must replace a head coach who was a perfect fit for New York with his defense-first mindset and his experience as an assistant coach under Jeff Van Gundy.

It’s easy to see the Knicks spiraling from here if they don’t hire the right coach, don’t improve their defense, and see themselves passed by Indiana and Detroit in the Eastern Conference pecking order. Maybe the front office will settle on Malone after Jay Wright and Dan Hurley say no.

The good news is that my baseball team is thriving. The Mets just won their fifth straight game and got a complete game shutout from David Peterson. I think that’s just as impressive as a no-hitter these days considering that most of those feature multiple pitchers without one guy having to go the distance. I love to criticize Carlos Mendoza for treating his pitchers with kid gloves, but he did a great job letting Peterson pitch through some trouble in the seventh and eighth innings before having him finish the job in the ninth.

First career complete game shutout for @_David_Peterson! 👏 #LGM pic.twitter.com/Km3ZN3Slid

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 12, 2025

Peterson and the leap he’s taken this year have been very important to the Mets’ surprisingly effective starting rotation. It doesn’t feel so much like a fluke when guys like Kodai Senga and Peterson are delivering strong outings every fifth or sixth day.

I really thought tonight would be the night where the Mets fell back to the pack a little bit and stopped being unbeatable at home. That night might come, but it is not this night! On this night the Mets overcame a 4-2 deficit in the eighth inning and came back to defeat the Washington Nationals in the bottom of the 10th on Jeff McNeil’s RBI single!

.@JeffMcNeil805 FTW!!! pic.twitter.com/W4Bl4HATpf

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025

The Mets looked pretty dead in the bottom of the eighth with two outs and nobody on base, but Starling Marte sparked them with a walk and Washington’s no-doubles defense (that never works) allowed Juan Soto’s line drive to right field to land in for an RBI double. Pete Alonso followed up with a clutch double of his own to tie the game. Then all it took was Edwin Diaz and “Great News” Reed Garrett shutting down Washington in the ninth and 10th innings, respectively, to set up McNeil’s game-winner.

What really impressed me about the Mets’ rally was how it came out of nowhere. New York had just one hit following Juan Soto’s solo shot in the third that cut Washington’s lead to 3-2. The offense had gone to sleep before being woken up by Marte’s walk and Soto’s big hit. Just as important as the hit, though, was Soto hustling home on Alonso’s double. With Alonso being thrown out at second base on the play, the Mets don’t get the tying run in if Soto doesn’t reach the plate before the tag. It was a good job by Soto to show some awareness and bust his butt to the plate.

Pete comes THROUGH!

Make the Polar Bear an All-Star! 🗳️👉 https://t.co/pvcqpJro0F pic.twitter.com/Wn7V3tSptG

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 11, 2025

Griffin Canning might not have had the finest game, but Soto and McNeil following up their strong performances in Denver with two hits and two RBI each is a great sign for the Mets going forward. Plus, the newest member of the bullpen Justin Garza got a couple of huge strikeouts to keep Washington from adding on in the top of the eighth.

With no NBA Finals or Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday night, the USMNT had a chance to steal the spotlight, but it got blown out by Switzerland 4-0. It would be embarrassing enough to get crushed by a legit European power, but Switzerland? That is inexcusable and there is less than zero excitement for the US with one year to go until the 2026 World Cup. Oh well, maybe the Mets will be defending a World Series championship by then… still a long way to go.

The College World Series field of eight is set, and the best story was saved for last with Murray State defeating Duke 5-4 to advance to its first ever CWS. It was miraculous enough that the Racers beat Ole Miss in two of three games to advance from the Oxford Regional, but they followed it up with wins in Game 2 and Game 3 of the Durham Super Regional to reach Omaha. The NCAA Baseball Tournament doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the basketball version, but that doesn’t make Murray State’s Cinderella run any less fun. It appeared to be over for the Racers when they lost to Duke in Game 1 on Saturday, but they bounced back with 19 runs in Sunday’s win before defeating the Blue Devils for a second straight time tonight.  Duke took a 3-2 lead in the fourth inning on a solo shot by Jake Berger, but Murray State equalized in the seventh on Jonathan Hogart’s second home run of the night before going ahead in the eighth on a Luke Mistone’s solo job.

MURRAY STATE TAKES THE LEAD!! 😤#RoadToOmaha x 🎥 ESPN / @RacersBaseball pic.twitter.com/LI9TzBIHyr

— NCAA Baseball (@NCAABaseball) June 10, 2025

With Murray State ahead 5-4 in the ninth, the umpires tried to end the game early by calling Duke for double play interference on the cleanest takeout slide I have ever seen. Fortunately the call was overturned, and the Racers were able to regroup and get the final out despite celebrating prematurely before the replay review. The College World Series will start on Friday with Coastal Carolina taking on Arizona. Murray State plays its first game on Saturday against UCLA. After last year’s CWS field was split between four SEC teams and four ACC teams, this year there is more diversity with only two SEC teams and one from the ACC. The Pac-12 would have led with three programs in Omaha if it had never broken up, but UCLA, Oregon State, and Arizona now all represent different conferences.

Down in South Florida, the Panthers took control of the Stanley Cup Final with 6-1 pounding of Edmonton. The last two times we had a repeat Stanley Cup Final, the titles were split between each team. Sydney Crosby and the Penguins lost to Detroit in 2008 before winning the Cup in 2009. Likewise, Wayne Gretzky’s Oilers fell to the Islanders in 1983 before defeating them in 1984. So history is on Edmonton’s side, but momentum is certainly not. The Oilers appeared to be setting us up for another classic game when Corey Perry slammed in a rebound on the power play to start the second period and make the score 2-1 Florida, but the Panthers struck back with a Sam Reinhart goal that took advantage of an Edmonton turnover deep in its own end. Sam Bennett followed up by undressing Stuart Skinner on a breakaway to put the Panthers up 4-1 and they ran away from there.

In baseball, we saw the best home run robbery in a long time when Denzel Clarke went way over the wall to take a big fly away from Nolan Schanuel. Poor guy only has 17 career home runs.

DENZEL CLARKE OMG! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/2QJBAkmZqN

— MLB (@MLB) June 10, 2025

The Mets and USA Soccer return on Tuesday, but the NBA Finals aren’t back until Wednesday. Remember, it’s Thunder in five.

That’s more like it, Thunder! It would be nice if Oklahoma City had defeated Indiana in Game 1 so we wouldn’t have to endure three days of talk about how the Pacers just have the “it” factor and how Tyrese Haliburton is underrated and how those plucky underdog Pacers just never give up. Still, I’ll take a standard issue thrashing in which the Thunder pulled away in the second quarter, led by 18 at halftime, and never let Indiana get close in the second half. The Pacers still have home court advantage thanks to their Game 1 comeback, but it’s nice to see them not go ahead 2-0 like they did in their first three series of these NBA Playoffs.

AARON WIGGINS OVER HALIBURTON 🔥

Richard Jefferson with some poetry on the call 😂 pic.twitter.com/QDGFFvNZ9j

— ESPN (@espn) June 9, 2025

Finally, someone had a response in Game 2 of a seven-game series. The Pacers were balanced as usual with seven players scoring in double figures and five players handing out four or more assists, but they were no match for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s 34 points and eight dimes. Oklahoma City also got great bench performances from Alex Caruso and Aaron Wiggins during its 123-107 win. We have to wait until Wednesday for Game 3 because Adam Silver is too busy worrying about the center court logo to deal with the NBA’s real problems, but I’m confident that the Thunder will keep rolling and wrap up the title in five games.

Elsewhere in sports, the Red Sox won their rubber game against the Yankees 11-7 with both teams combining for eight home runs. Aaron Judge got a pair of dingers, but Boston made up for those and more with Trevor Story and Kristian Campbell going deep despite both slugging under .400 this year. The Red Sox are still a disappointment this season, but it’s nice to see Tampa Bay and Toronto come alive lately to make the Yankees sweat a little.

I’m actually sweating a little less these days, and it’s not just because of the weather in New Jersey refusing to acknowledge that it is almost summer. The Mets expanded their lead over the Phillies to four games in the loss column thanks to two sweeps going in opposite directions. New York won three straight at Colorado while Philly dropped three at Pittsburgh. It was nice to see the Mets’ offense finally play like it should at Coors Field over the last two days following a pitiful display against Antonio Senzatela on Friday night. Francisco Lindor helped New York escape with a win in that one, but the next two games were way more fun thanks to Jeff McNeil showing some surprising power. He homered once in the Mets’ 8-1 Saturday win and twice more during the 13-5 Sunday victory. McNeil’s batting average still isn’t where it was during his prime, but he was quietly having a vintage season even before this weekend’s explosion of offense.

One for the history books ✨#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/vdTYmMS3CR

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 8, 2025

The most exciting event of the day was the men’s final at Roland-Garros. Jannik Sinner won the first two sets against Carlos Alcaraz, but the Spaniard stormed back to win the final three sets with the last two coming down to the tiebreaker. Alcaraz appeared to be cooked in the fourth set, but he survived three straight match points to take control of the match. In the fifth set, it was Sinner’s turn to come back, and he won a crucial game to make the score 5-5 when Alcaraz was serving for the championship. Sinner appeared to have regained momentum heading into the final tiebreak, but Alcaraz won the first seven points to put the match out of reach. The epic battle between the world’s top two players went five and a half hours and was the longest men’s final in Roland-Garros history. I’m thinking it will be a while until an American man has a chance to win a major tournament with Alcaraz and Sinner operating at a different level than everyone else.

Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was pretty darn exciting with the Edmonton Oilers coming back from two goals down and winning on a Leon Draisaitl power play goal with 31 seconds left to go in overtime. However, Game 2 blew it out of the water with five first-period goals, a last-minute equalizer, and a breakaway winner in double overtime. My favorite part of the game was the Panthers and Oilers exchanging gorgeous goals midway through the first period. It started with Edmonton holding a 2-1 lead and Euto Luostarinen threading the needle to Seth Jones, who shot the puck into a net so wide open that I could have scored it.

Some pretty passing from the @FlaPanthers! 😱 #StanleyCup

🇺🇸: @NHL_On_TNT & @SportsonMax ➡️ https://t.co/4TuyIATi3T
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ ➡️ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF

Team Players presented by @Budweiser pic.twitter.com/BVqp3DnzY5

— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2025

That was nothing compared to Edmonton’s response, though. Connor McDavid put all of his world-class moves on display in one play and found Draisaitl to put his team back on top.

MCDAVID IS NOT FROM THIS PLANET 🔥🤯 pic.twitter.com/uvYbxLJPgH

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) June 7, 2025

The greatest player in the world right now completely undressed one defender, then hit the toe drag on the next before finding Draisaitl for the easy finish. Not all assists are created equal. We need a separate category for that work of art. Maybe that goal should have been worth two, because it would be a while until Edmonton scored again. Florida lit the lamp twice in the second period to take the lead, including Brad Marchand’s first breakaway goal of the evening. The score remained 4-3 until the final minute of regulation, when Corey Perry made history by scoring the latest game-tying goal in Stanley Cup Final history.

COREY PERRY TIES IT WITH 17 SECONDS LEFT 🪱 pic.twitter.com/sKhNQORt2l

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 7, 2025

That is how you send a Canadian city into a frenzy. I don’t know how Perry pulled that off while he was wrapped about a Florida player, but it made for some spectacular drama. That excitement would continue for another period and a half until Marchand scored on a breakaway again, this time finishing with a backhand finish through Stuart Skinner’s legs.

https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1931207142490386878

It’s still unclear if Marchand touched the puck with the backhand, but I don’t know how it gets by Skinner without coming off of Marchand’s stick. Just like that, the Final was even at one game a piece. Since the NBA pushed its Game 2 to Sunday night, we have to wait until Monday for more puck action. Well, they could have done a matinee on Sunday, but that would be way too much fun.

While the first four periods of hockey were going on, the Mets somehow pulled out a 4-2 win in Colorado despite the Rockies loading the bases against Ryne Stanek with the scored tied in the eighth inning and no outs. Ryan McMahon hit a line drive that could have won the game for Colorado, but instead Brett Baty snagged it and fell on third base for a double play that the Mets desperately needed. Francisco Lindor followed up with his best Willis Reed impression, pinch-hitting with a broken toe and hitting a two-RBI double in the ninth to give New York the decisive runs.

Finally, we got some crazy news on Saturday with Penn State being expected to sign the top prospect in the 2026 NHL Draft. I might have to buy a B1G+ subscription package if that happens.

I really can’t stand Tyrese Haliburton. On Thursday night in Oklahoma City he came up with ANOTHER super clutch, last-second bucket to steal ANOTHER playoff game in which Indiana trailed in the final minute. This time, it happened to be Game 1 of the NBA Finals. I thought the Thunder were better than this, but they fell victim to Haliburton’s heroics, just like all the Eastern Conference teams before them. At least Oklahoma City only led by three points in the last minute of the fourth quarter before falling to the Pacers 111-110. In the three rounds prior, the Bucks, Cavaliers, and Knicks all blew games against Indiana in which they were lead by seven or more with less than 60 seconds to play.

Still, Oklahoma City led by 15 with less than 10 minutes to go, so this is still a big time collapse by a squad that had dominated the NBA all season and appeared ready to be coronated as champions. Some hot three-point shooting by Obi Toppin and Myles Turner helped Indiana get the deficit down to single digits, but NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander kept the Pacers at bay and pushed the lead back to nine points with three minutes left. However, consecutive three-point makes by Aaron Nesmith and Andrew “Nimrod” Nembhard made it a one-possession game at the two-minute mark. After Pascal Siakam scored by luckily rebounding an air ball chucked up by Nimrod, SGA had a chance to make it a three-point game with an open 15-footer, but he missed the jumper to set up Haliburton’s 20-foot winner over Cason Wallace.

New stage… same result.

ANOTHER game-winner for Tyrese Haliburton in his Finals debut 🤯🤯🤯pic.twitter.com/22QbhQNqyf

— NBA (@NBA) June 6, 2025

What really bothers me about Haliburton is that he thinks he’s proving the doubters wrong by hitting these clutch shots, but he’s really proving them right by not consistently performing like the hero he thinks he is. The man had 12 points before his last-second jumper in Game 1. “But he’s so unstoppable, he can pull up from anywhere!” Then maybe he should do so before his team falls into a big hole. Some more impulsive shots would have helped the Pacers avoid a few of their 24 turnovers.

I guess it’s cool that the Pacers are finding a way to win big without being a major market or tanking. That takes some serious coaching, management, and heart. Still, Indiana winning the Finals would be way more painful to take as a Knicks fan than if the Thunder come back and stomp them in five games. The Knicks could have and should have been in this spot if not for Haliburton’s jumper from Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals that bounces higher off the rim every time I imagine it. I think it went through the roof of Madison Square Garden and into outer space last time. If the Pacers win the NBA title, I’ll just think that the Knicks would have won if that ball had just fallen anywhere else but straight back down through the bucket.

The NBA’s ridiculous schedule means we have to wait until Sunday night for Game 2. The Pacers have gone up 2-0 in every series during this run, so it will be interesting to see if they can do it one more time. If OKC responds well, it might be a sign that this series can be different. While we are waiting for the NBA to return, the Edmonton Oilers have a chance to take a 2-0 lead over the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final on Friday night. As you might have heard, a Canadian club has not hoisted the Cup since 1993 and Edmonton is in Alberta, which is a province of Canada. The Panthers looked to be on their way to smashing Edmonton’s Stanley Cup dreams when Sam Bennett scored his second goal of the game to put his team up 3-1 early in the second period, but the Oilers answered a minute later to make it a one-goal game and found the equalizer off of Mattias Ekholm’s stick early in the third.

Edmonton controlled the action and had the best scoring chances throughout the third and deep into the overtime, but they were turned away by Sergei Bobrovsky until Leon Draisaitl buried a Connor McDavid pass into the net with 31 seconds to play. The game-winning goal sent Edmonton into a frenzy and brought McDavid one step closer to claiming the Cup for the first time in his career. We’ll find out tonight if the Oilers can build on the momentum or if the reigning champs will strike back!

You have to give me a lot of credit for continuing to pay attention to the Mets on the day that the Nintendo Switch 2 launches. We got the first new Nintendo console in eight years and the first new Mario Kart game in 11 years, and they were both released on the same day! It is a pretty exciting time to be a Nintendo fan, but the Mets are pretty exciting as well, especially when Pete Alonso is smashing the ball out of the park like he was on Wednesday night. His two-run home run in the first inning put the Mets ahead 3-0, and after Griffin Canning finished up one of his best starts of the season, Polar Bear put the game away with a three-run blast in the eighth. The Mets ended up with a dominant 6-1 win over the defending World Series champs thanks to Alonso’s powerful offense and Canning’s masterful six innings.

The victory clinched the season series for the Mets over the Dodgers, and that could come into play down the line since these teams are two of the National League’s top World Series contenders. The Mets could have done one better by winning on Thursday to take three of four in Los Angeles, but they decided to kill the good vibes instead. New York jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to solo shots off of Landon Knack by Alonso, Brandon Nimmo, and Starling Marte, but the Dodgers answered back with three runs in the bottom of the third. Right there it felt like the Mets would lose this game, but as usual they hooked us back in to believing in a possible victory. David Peterson settled down and ended up lasting seven innings without giving up another run. The former first-round draft pick is finally pitching a lot of innings this season and appears to be on his way to a career year. The amount of pleasant surprises on this New York pitching staff is really something.

Anyway, the Mets had several chances to add to their lead while Peterson was mowing down Dodgers, but they failed all of them until Alonso came up with a two-out RBI single in the eighth to make the score 5-3. Just when it looked like the Mets had found separation, though, Reed Garrett showed up with some not-so-great news. He threw six straight balls to Mookie Betts and Will Smith, and the next pitch was ripped into left field by Smith for an RBI double. After Smith reached third on Teoscar Hernandez’s fly out, Andy Pages hit a ground ball that gave the Mets a golden opportunity to throw Smith out at home. Smith even made it easy on the Mets by stopping between third and home even though it was too late to head back. However, instead of getting an easy out, Brett Baty double clutched and spiked the throw to the plate, allowing Smith to sneak in with the tying run. All that was left was for Michael Conforto to break an 0-for-30 RISP slump and drive in the go-ahead run.

Michael for the lead! pic.twitter.com/fzobYeUkGl

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 5, 2025

Unbelievable. The Mets blew late leads in both of their losses at Chavez Ravine, but at least Juan Soto is happily flipping water bottles in the dugout. Of course he was the only one in the top four of the Mets’ lineup that didn’t have a hit today. Maybe Soto is so happy because he remembered that he doesn’t have to do anything to collect money.

The Mets now head to Colorado to take on the Rockies, who are suddenly red hot from sweeping the Marlins. I’ll be pleasantly surprised if the Mets can pull off another sweep like they did last weekend.

The Mets love to tease and Wednesday night was no exception. They could have just gone down quietly after Tylor Megill allowed four runs in the bottom of the first inning, with the last two coming home on a Max Muncy monster bomb to right field. Instead, Megill not only saved the bullpen from disaster by lasting six innings, but he kept the Mets alive for the win by keeping Los Angeles off the scoreboard for the remainder of his time on the mound.

The Mets rallied while Megill settled in. Juan Soto took Clayton Kershaw deep in the third with a two-run shot that drew the Mets to within a run. In the fifth, Pete Alonso tied the game by lacing a two-out RBI double to center field and Brandon Nimmo followed up by beating Kershaw to first base for an RBI infield single that gave New York the lead.

Now that we had our hopes up that the Mets had a chance to take two straight from the Dodgers, it was time for the offense to go to bed while the bullpen imploded. However, the bullpen took its time with the implosion part. Brandon Waddell followed up Megill’s effort with a scoreless seventh before Reed Garrett took us on a ride in the eighth. The Dodgers were poised to take the lead when Shohei Ohtani led off with a walk, Mookie Betts followed up with a single, and both runners advanced on a passed ball by Francisco Alvarez. But as he has to often this season, Garrett came through with some GREAT NEWS and struck out Freddie Freeman before Teoscar Hernandez hit a ground ball to third that Ronnie Mauricio used to cut down Ohtani at the plate. All it took after that was a strikeout of Will Smith to complete Garrett’s escape.

It would have been cool for the Mets to take advantage of Garrett’s magic act and add on a run or two, but Luis Torrens’ bid for a two-out RBI double in the ninth was run down by Andy Pages in center field. Now it was up to Huascar Brazoban to save the game with Edwin Diaz unavailable.

I thought Brazoban would unavailable as well since he threw over 30 pitches the night before, but Carlos Mendoza works in mysterious ways. Brazoban would reward his manager’s faith by striking out the side… but only after Muncy led off the frame with his second home run of the night to tie the game 5-5.

FREDDIE! FREDDIE! FREDDIE! pic.twitter.com/nVC0ZFNbTr

— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) June 4, 2025

The Mets went down feebly against Tanner Scott in the 10th without even advancing the ghost runner to third base. That left Jose Butto to deal with the top of the order with the winning run already in scoring position. Freeman made up for his failure in the eighth by launching a fly ball deep to left field. If the usually reliable Brandon Nimmo caught that ball we might have had a happier ending, but he turned and twisted and lost the ball so badly in the night that he was surprised when it landed a foot away from him on the warning track. Game over.

It would be great if tonight’s game against the Dodgers only went nine innings or maybe ended before 1:00 AM. We’ve got some quality entertainment in the earlier evening with the Stanley Cup Final beginning and the Women’s College World Series starting its championship series that I thought started last night. With Matthew Tkachuk and Connor McDavid playing for the Cup, there could be some rivalry juice left over from the 4 Nations Face-Off that captivated North America for a minute this winter. I know I’m rooting for Canada’s Cup drought to continue after the DISRESPECT its fans showed the good ole USA in February.

The Mets picked up one of their biggest wins of the season on Monday night when they beat the Dodgers 4-3 in the opener of a four-game series at Chavez Ravine. Francisco Lindor set the pace with his sixth leadoff home run of the year and later came up big with a game-winning RBI single in the 10th, but the real star of the night was Paul Blackburn. In his first start for the Mets since last August, the 2024 Trade Deadline acquisition shut down the Dodgers for five innings while striking out Shohei Ohtani twice and allowing just one runner to reach scoring position. Blackburn certainly could have gone deeper into the game since he only threw 77 pitches compared to more than 80 in his last minor league rehab start, but Carlos Mendoza once again decided to treat his players like babies, and it almost cost the Mets.

We knew the bullpen was thin because Chris Devenski was sent to the minors to make room for Blackburn while both Garrett Reed and Edwin Diaz had worked in two of the three games against Colorado. That made Mendoza’s decision to pull Blackburn early all the more puzzling. It looked like the Mets were headed for a meltdown when Huascar Brazoban walked both Max Muncy and Michael Conforto to load the bases in the sixth, but he came up with a huge strikeout of Tommy Edman to escape the jam. Max Kranick allowed a monster home run to Ohtani an inning later, but fortunately it came with two outs and the bases empty, allowing the Mets to enter the ninth with a 2-1 edge.

Nimmo adds on! 🙌@You_Found_Nimmo | #LGM pic.twitter.com/QAVPUpIMya

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 3, 2025

The lead could have been bigger, but the Mets’ rally in the fifth inning yielded only one run despite Brandon Nimmo hitting a two-out double with both Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez on base. Nimmo’s blast to the gap bounced over the wall for a ground-rule double, allowing just one run to score when a garden-variety double would have surely scored both runners. Not only that, but one batter earlier Lindor appeared to have an extra-base hit to the opposite field, only to have Conforto run it down in left field.

Those two plays combined to make it seem very unlucky that the Mets had only two runs in the ninth, and the Dodgers took advantage when Edman hit a leadoff single off of Diaz. I have to give credit to Mendoza for breaking the “in case of emergency” glass on Diaz even though he usually doesn’t use a reliever in three out of four games. Unfortunately, Mendoza probably won’t do it again because Edman stole second base and scored on an Ohtani sac fly to blow the save. Diaz might have been dominant lately, but his inability to control the run game continues to be a major problem that will haunt the Mets if they make it to the Postseason.

It won’t haunt the Mets today, though. New York showed great resilience in the 10th when Alvarez led off with an opposite-field double that scored the ghost runner and set Alvarez himself up to score on Lindor’s clutch single. The bottom of the frame got ugly with Jose Castillo trying to pick up his first career save. He immediately walked Freddie Freeman to set the stage for heartbreak, but Castillo buckled down and struck out Max Muncy following a single by Andy Pages. Dave Roberts then lifted Conforto for the right-handed Will Smith, so Mendoza countered with Jose Butto out of the pen, and he responded by retiring both Smith and Edman to close out the game.

Elsewhere in baseball, the Rockies finally got their 10th win of the season thanks to two home run by catcher Hunter Goodman in Miami. In Boston, the Angels defeated the Red Sox 7-6 on the strength of three first-inning home runs, including one by Mike Trout that traveled more than 450 feet. No visiting team at Fenway Park had ever hit three home runs in the top of the first, which is pretty amazing considering how long Fenway has been around. Out west, the Padres beat the Giants 1-0 despite eight shutout innings from Logan Webb. The winning run was driven in on a sac fly from none other than our old friend Candelita in the top of the 10th.

The college ball continued to be wild with Murray State upsetting Ole Miss to head to its first ever super regional. The Racers led 12-3 in the middle of the seventh, but Ole Miss stormed back with five runs in the bottom of the inning and three more in the eighth to make it a one-run game in the ninth. It looked like Murray State was destined to let the opportunity slip away, but Graham Kelham set the Rebels down in order to end the game. Little Rock appeared headed for a similar upset win, but it failed to hold onto its early 5-1 lead over LSU. The Tigers locked in and only allowed one more run for the rest of the game while scoring in each of the final four innings to vanquish Cinderella.

The super regionals don’t start until Friday, but we do have the championship series of the Women’s College World Series starting tonight with Texas Tech taking on Texas. It has been fun to watch Red Raiders pitcher NiJaree Canady dominate the competition and take Tech farther than anyone thought they would go.

Before the 2025 MLB season started and Mets fans were blessed by the surprising success of their pitching staff, the strength of the team was supposed to be the top of the order. Juan Soto was billed as a top-three hitter in the game, Francisco Lindor was coming off his best campaign as a Met, and Pete Alonso had just rejoined New York following his iconic season-saving home run in Milwaukee. Overall, the three stars have combined for great production, but they haven’t all clicked at the same time very often. Soto went through a super slump in the middle of May and Alonso’s production slipped with a big home run drought after he started the season on fire.

On Sunday, though, all three guys hits home runs in the same game for the first time in 2025. It was a good thing, too, because no one else on offense did much of anything. Colorado starter Carson Palmquist appeared on pace for a stellar performance before walking Starling Marte to lead off the fourth inning. He then hit Soto with a pitch and Alonso took advantage to a massive oppo taco to give New York a 3-1 lead. You have to give the horrible Rockies some credit, though. They might be on pace for a historically inept season, but they showed some fight in the fifth after Alonso ruined Palmquist’s day. Tyler Freeman hasn’t hit for much of anything in his big league career, but he took advantage of Clay Holmes hitting Keston Hiura with a pitch and slammed a breaking ball over the right-center field wall for a game-tying home run.

Oppo shot for the Polar Bear! 🐻‍❄️ pic.twitter.com/yXI8tfknfI

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2025

Suddenly it seemed like the Mets might blow a crucial game to Colorado at home, but Lindor clutch gene returned at the right time and he answered Freeman’s blast with a solo shot in the bottom of the frame. Holmes then settled down with six straight outs before Reed Garrett and Edwin Diaz locked down the win for the Mets while Juan Soto added his own solo shot to create some separation. The Mets won 5-3 to complete the sweep and head into Los Angeles with some momentum. However, momentum is only as good as the next day’s starting pitcher, and that one is a big unknown for the Mets since Paul Blackburn will be making his 2025 debut. He has missed the first two months of the season with right knee inflammation, but he pitched decently last year between being acquired at the trade deadline and hitting the injured list with a right hand contusion.

Hopefully the top of the order will keep hitting and give Blackburn some support. The Dodgers will be starting Dustin May, and he’s allowed a home run in each of his last five starts after allowing just one home run in five April starts. The Mets could use some length out of Blackburn since Garrett and Diaz have both been used in two of the last three days. Carlos Mendoza won’t use a reliever in three out of four days because he believes all pitchers are babies, so it could be up to Huascar Brazoban and Ryne Stanek to lead the relief effort tonight. The good news is that Garrett and Diaz are forming a solid tandem at the back of the bullpen that will serve the Mets well if they can continue pitching as efficiently as they have been.

Reed. 😤 pic.twitter.com/KRbXu2dFu1

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 1, 2025

Before the National League clash, though, there is plenty of exciting baseball on the slate. Not only will the Padres and Giants be facing off in an important division and Wild Card battle, but there are six super regional bids on the line in college baseball. It all starts this afternoon with North Carolina trying to win its rubber game against Oklahoma. However, action will really heat up at night with super Cinderella teams Murray State and Little Rock trying to get by SEC powerhouses Ole Miss and LSU. You don’t have to know much about college ball to realize that the Racers or Trojans reaching a super regional would be a tremendous story and also a total nightmare for either of the favorites whose fan bases are looking forward to slurping down massive amounts of Jell-O shots in Omaha later this month. Think of all the Jell-O lives that will be saved if Little Rock upsets the Tigers tonight. There is a lot at stake.

Imagine if there was another sport for which we could recreate the magic of March Madness. That sport is already out there, but it is played in the spring and uses a ball that is not as bouncy. It’s college baseball, baby! And the only thing holding it back from captivating America is millions of fans filling out brackets while acting like they know more ball than they actually do. Why don’t we have college baseball brackets? ESPN has the right for the whole tournament including the College World Series, but it won’t offer a bracket on its website that we can print out and gamble on. This is a company that offers women’s fantasy basketball for crying out loud!

Maybe in years past you could say that the NCAA Baseball Tournament was too predictable to be an entertaining gambling product, but that is not the case this year. While upsets were hard to come by during March Madness, baseball has been a different story with Vanderbilt failing to advance to the super regionals as the overall number one seed. The Commodores didn’t even reach their regional final played on their home field because they lost to Louisville 3-2 on Saturday and then to Wright State of the Horizon League 5-4 on Sunday. Wright State’s Cinderella run might be ending before the super regionals as the Raiders trail Louisville right now, but they are not the only plucky underdog that is making this tournament very exciting.

Just look at UTSA beating Texas for the second time in two days on Sunday to send the overall number two seed home early. After clobbering Kansas State 10-2 in its opening game, UTSA rallied from a 6-1 deficit to stun the Longhorns on Saturday and clinch a spot in the regional final. Texas bounced back by eliminating Kansas State on Sunday and earned a rematch with the Roadrunners, but this time UTSA jumped out to a 7-0 lead and held on for a 7-4 victory.

It’s already very exciting that Vanderbilt and Texas were upset in the regionals, but think about how much cooler it would be if you could laugh at someone who picked one of those teams to win the championship. That’s why we need college baseball brackets! I need to feel like my life is ruined while watching those sad players walk off the field for a final time with their College World Series dreams unrealized.

Murray State was another great Cinderella story, as it won its first two games of the tournament as the fourth seed in the Oxford Region. However, the host Ole Miss is getting some revenge right now, and that could force a third and decisive game between the Rebels and Racers on Monday. Little Rock is another team to watch, as it came in with one of the worst records in the field at 26-33. The Trojans seemed destined for an early exit after being shut out by LSU 7-0 in the opener, but since then they sent Rhode Island home with a 22-10 win and bounced Dallas Baptist with an 8-6 victory. Currently, Little Rock is leading LSU 6-4 in the 6th inning. If the Trojans hold on, they have a rematch with LSU on Monday with a trip to the super regionals on the line. It’s hard enough for a powerhouse program to make supers after losing its opener in the regional, but for Little Rock? That would take a miracle.

With five regional hosts already eliminated and the chance to lose more on Monday, you can’t say that the NCAA Baseball Tournament has been too predictable. Instead, it’s been a wild ride that more casual fans need to get involved in. The emotions are too high, the action is too hot, and the bats make too sweet of a sound for college baseball to not be more popular. We just need someone to push a bracket on the masses since ESPN has started to hate money.

Much like Steph Curry, The Joker always is a threat to get that last laugh, and OKc found that out the hard way tonight. At times tonight, he looked off, distracted and a bit out of sorts. The Thunder induced their share of turnovers, frustration fouls and scowls, but even as he played the tired villain you could sense the amazing determination, perserverance and fierce fortitude. He was the coach, the superstar on the court and the engine that would not let the Nuggets knuckle under. And in the end, spindly Chet couldn’t get those last two charity stripe offerings to drop, followed by Commissioner Gordon’s definitive three, and it was a back breaker of a road win for Denver.
Denver knows it can win this… but I’m not sure the same thing can be said about the #1 seeds.

Let the Final Four Festivities commence! Time to eat, or be eaten… and beaten. Save some time for ChabDog Sports Talk’s “Save the Blind Tigers” Show. Is Auburn headed for some unfortunate chomp and circumstance against the Gators? Will high and mighty Duke and its Flagg-bearer famously high flying get taken out by Samson’s sadistic wrecking crew and their terrible defensive tool box, incluidng a big blow torch and more than a few defensive pliers.
When we’re done with basketball, it’s time to lay out the welcome mat for MLB, where the Dodgers rule with an iron hand, its all hands on deck for the Yankees and their magic bat, and the Braves need a lot more than a helping hand.
And then there’s our killer Kilmer clips… love steet, Dodge City Doc…and real geniuses in college… plus Billy and the Over-the-hill-gang and John Malkovich, burying a hatchet in Burn After Reading.

Opening Day was a sad one for Mets fans. Not only did they lose 3-1 in Houston to suffer their first back-to-back Opening Day defeats since 1999 and 2000, but they were let down by two key players that they signed as free agents during the offseason. Both Clay Holmes and Juan Soto played for the Yankees last year, and both failed to make a strong first impression with their new team. I don’t even know if Holmes is a starting pitcher, let alone a starting pitcher worthy of Opening Day. Before Thursday, he hadn’t started a game since 2018, so I don’t know what made the Mets think he can be a mainstay in their rotation. Holmes looked great in spring training, but in the opener he fell one out short of five innings pitched while allowing five hits and four walks. That is a lot of action on the basepaths, but to Holmes’ credit, he only let in two earned runs. The third Houston run came home on a throwing error by Luisangel Acuna that negated what could have been an inning-ending double play. This Mets pitching staff is very thin with Sean Manaea and Frankie Montas on the injured list. If guys like Holmes can’t make it through five innings, the bullpen is going to be overworked.

At least Juan Soto reached base three times on a single and two walks, but he also struck out to end the game after Houston closer Josh Hader fell behind 3-0 in the count and grooved a pitch for his first strike that it looked like Soto could have hit to the moon. It was a disappointing ending to the game, especially since Soto came so close to a heroic moment. It was nice to see the Mets rally in the 8th and the 9th after looking totally feeble against Framber Valdez, though. Acuna did a great job climbing out of an 0-2 hole and working a walk and Francisco Lindor hit a long sac fly to break up the shutout, but the Mets could not find the one big hit to bring them back. Hopefully the offense will be more consistent against Hunter Brown tonight. If it is not, the Mets will need a great effort from Tylor Megill to avoid another loss.

Elsewhere in the National League East, Mackenzie Gore totally dominated the Phillies for six innings with 13 strikeouts and just one hit allowed. Gore left the game with a 1-0 lead, but the Phillies hopped on top with solo shots by Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber off of Lucas Sims and Jose Ferrer of the Washington pen. The Nats rallied to tie the game at 3-3 in the 8th against Jordan Romano, but the Phillies got a two-run double from Alec Bohm and another from J.T. Realmuto to put the game away in the 10th.

The Braves scored four runs in the first four innings at San Diego, but their offense went quiet the rest of the way while the Padres rallied back with four runs in the 7th against Hector Neris and Aaron Bummer. Gavin Sheets hit a solo shot to start the frame and tie the score, Luis Arraez gave the Padres the lead with a sac fly, and Manny Machado added on with an RBI double before Jackson Merrill capped the scoring with a sac fly of his down for his fourth RBI of the day.

As Opening Day turned into night, college hoops took, and we got to see a lot of offense on display in the Sweet 16. Florida only led Maryland by two at the half, but the Gators chomped away for 47 second-half points and moved on with an 87-71 victory. Star guard Walter Clayton Jr. only scored 13 points, but Florida had six players score in double figures. This is a team that can erupt no matter who the defense tries to clamp down on. It was a different story in Newark, where Mark Sears and Aden Holloway led a three-point barrage for Alabama in its 113-88 win over BYU. The Cougars could not keep pace as Alabama poured in 25 shots from beyond the arc on a wild 51 attempts to bury the Mormons. Sears was nigh unstoppable with 34 points and eight assists.

The night games were more competitive, and Caleb Love would not let Duke pull away from Arizona. He scored 35 points for the Wildcats, but Duke got a combined 50 from Cooper Flagg and Kon Knuppel to keep its opponents from completing the upset bid. Jon Scheyer’s team won 100-93 and is set to face the Crimson Tide on Saturday night in what could be a scoring bonanza for the ages.

Despite all the scoring from Alabama and Duke, the most electric game of the evening took place in San Francisco with Darrion Williams and Texas Tech overcoming a 13-point deficit with less than five minutes to play and stunning Arkansas 85-83 in overtime. Williams was only 8-for-26 from the field in this one, but he came up big when it mattered with a three-point shot to tie the score at 72-72 with nine seconds remaining in the second half. In overtime, Williams hit a layup after a spin move in the post to give Texas Tech the winning margin. D.J. Wagner missed shots at the end of regulation and overtime for Arkansas. The Hogs might have been playing with house money as a 10-seed, but this loss has to be heartbreaking nevertheless with how close they were to the Elite Eight. It’s hard to call Arkansas “Cinderella” when you have a great coach in John Calipari and an tremendous prospect with Wagner, but Calipari being on the edge of the Final Four in his first year with his new program would have been a heck of a story.

Update about the state of the ChabDog Pool (on the cusp of the 16 Candles round):

–Aaron’s glory has proven to be a wee bit fleeting, as he must now share top honors with 2 others, including Well-read and HOV (High Occuplancy?). High falutent Harrison (hot air) Montague is in third, 10 points back.
— Meanwhilte ChabDog lurks at just 30 points back, tied with the master of the six pack, Blixx
— Abe is in 7th, mortally wounded as Iowa State bit the proverbial big one.
— Behind him, hope abounds as everyone else’s winner remains alive.
Everyone in this pool has done a great job (even you Abe!) and deserve a Pat Kinght (or is it a Pat Summit?) on the back for a job well-done.

Despite all the fears of March mayhem, looks like when the dust cleared from round 1, the [ChabDog.com](http://chabdog.com/…) group pickers are mostly in tact and by no means done… leading us to that do or die, make or break round of 32.. and time for the “Bunker down and defend your bracket amid all the racket” CDST show. We’ll break down where things stand as things heat up in the Tournament … with most of the big boys (and their big coaches) still hanging around.
After possibly a few more Karaoke interjections, ChabDog explains why a cozy wing chair is such important territory to protect when you’re trying to make projections, plus A-ron’s reflections on how he actually went 27-5. Well-read’s recovered from his bout with yellow fever, and is now an eager beaver basketball prognosticator, and Abe Go Fish Pagoda splains why he cast his line with the Cyclones.
In the background we’ve got a priceless roster of famous clips and quips from All in the Family, and a tribute to grillmaster Foreman (including Cosell’s famous call of “Down Goes Frazier”, plus what happens when Mr. Rodger’s neighborhood once again becomes PIttsburgh and the recipe for an Ice cold finger roll.
Don’t miss this week’s shoooooo on a divine second day of Spring!

The Mets won another offseason title in 2024 when they signed Juan Soto to the largest contract in the history of professional sports. That is an awesome move and the Mets may become World Series contenders for years to come, but it won’t be only because of Soto. We’ve seen megastars struggle to qualify for the Postseason in baseball (most notably with Abe Miranda’s Anaheim Angels) and we’ve seen hyped Mets signings like Justin Verlander fail to convert offseason banners into real ones. What makes Soto different? Well, he might be a more talented slugger than the Mets have ever signed before with an on-base percentage above .400 in each one of his seven big league seasons. Most importantly, though, is the fact that Soto is joining a team that won a couple of Postseason series in 2024. He doesn’t have to be a savior, but I also can’t help but think that the Mets needed to do more over the winter to secure a bid in October.

If the Mets fall short this season, it will probably be because of the starting rotation. Two years ago, Kodai Senga and his Ghost Fork emerged as a star, but in 2024 he got hurt and missed 99 percent of the season. Fortunately, Sean Manaea put together a career year at age 32 and provided stability to the rotation alongside Luis Severino and Jose Quintana. Over the winter, the Mets brought back Manaea on a three-year deal, but they let Severino and Quintana walk while adding Frankie Montas, Griffin Canning, and Clay Holmes to replace them. Holmes was the Yankees’ closer last year, but he was demoted in October and hasn’t made a major league start since 2018.

Even with everyone healthy, I thought the 2025 rotation looked shaky with Senga seemingly made of glass and the Mets counting on Manaea to repeat his best year ever. Fast forward to the present, and Manaea is set to start the regular season on the injured list due to an oblique injury. Montas is also on the shelf with a strained lat, and I don’t feel good about the rotation at all. Senga needs to be the ace he was in 2023, David Peterson needs to build on his 2024 in which he posted a career-best 2.90 ERA despite a strikeout rate that shrunk to 7.51 per nine innings, and Clay Holmes needs to prove that he can be a mid-rotation starter after years of exclusively pitching out of the bullpen. That is a lot of question marks for the top three guys in the Mets’ rotation. Paul Blackburn should provide consistency at the back end, and Canning is fine for a fifth guy, but I think fans will miss having a horse like Jacob deGrom to turn to every fifth day.

.@_David_Peterson lookin' sharp 👀 pic.twitter.com/eWxzhMe7OG

— New York Mets (@Mets) March 4, 2025

The batting order figures to be the strength of the team with Francisco Lindor finally hitting like a superstar last year and Juan Soto hitting behind him. It took the Mets long enough, but they finally got a deal done with Pete Alonso, and he has shown he can be a feared power hitter even in a down season. If the Polar Bear can get back to hitting 40 home runs with a .260 average, he will look like a steal. I also think Brandon Nimmo will get on base more after a strange 2024 campaign in which he posted a BABIP below .300 for just the second time in his career. If some hits fall in for him, his walk rate is still good enough to get him to a .360 OBP, which will be useful wherever the Mets want to put him in the lineup. Mark Vientos should round out the top five of the order, but he could struggle if he doesn’t get his strikeouts under control. It will only be a matter of time before opposing pitchers spam outside breaking stuff against him. He needs to lay off the junk more and demand strikes.

The bottom of the order could get boosted from a Jeff McNeil resurgence or Francisco Alvarez refining his approach. The former top prospect has been exciting but wildly inconsistent over the past two seasons, while McNeil needs to rediscover his 2022 form after posting a career-high strikeout rate and career-low BABIP in 2024.

It will be tough for the Mets to top the magical Postseason run of 2024, especially with baseball’s final boss, the Los Angeles Dodgers, still standing in their way. For now, we’ll focus on getting ready for the regular season and winning a division title for the first time in a decade.

2SGBR85 Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Milton Williams, left, stops a pass by Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) during the NFL Super Bowl 59 football game on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong)

Feeling a bit let down, as cold February lingers and throws downers in your face like the NBA All-star game and the 4 Nations’ competition to nowhere. We’ll help you climb out of this groundhog day hole with the “CDST Superstar Superbowl Afterparty Show”. You’ll be seeing hhhhhelicopters, artifically enhanced lucky Lukas, delicious visions and vapors of a once-in-a-lifetime KC barbe-que, sacked, roasted and ready for brotherly love consumption, a 7 ft, 360 pound center from St. John’s Fisher who’s on a see food diet that commands attention, and, in honor of recently concluded National Hippo Day, it’s baby Charlie, who thinks he just one of the Rhinos. Plus, a look at two potential giant killer’s for this year’s touney… 10 and oh my in the Ivies, YALE… and the hot hot hot Tigers of Mizzou, who seek to undo the ghosts of Tyus Edney. Really, now, what could indeed by Feiner?!

AND PARDON THE INSURRECTION…

… and with that, there’s wasn’t anything that anyone could do to stop the Chiefy-3-peat from being rudely expunged.

This team looked great in all phases of the game, from just after their nadir against Atlanta, which wrecked mine and many

other survivor pools.  But these guys stayed sharp essentially thereafter, and tonight they were sharks, devouring that usually

productive KC short game, and turned Kermit into a troubled French quarter bullfrog, looking longingly for a lily pad to hide under.

And it didn’t hurt the underdogs, that their coach showed a burning motivation, to stick one to his former employers, along with a

fan base that probably spent most of the game with their collective mouths agape.  This was indeed a beat down from start to finish.

The truth Hurts!

• As ChabDognoticated, it’s KC by 1.5 against the fierce Eagles.
• Just ask Washington… the truth hurts… No. 1 and his friends are definitely No. 1 in the NFC. Let’s see who is the prey and who is the predator in two weeks.  As ChabDognoticated, it’s KC by 1.5 against the fierce Eagles.
• Dalton’s drop makes much of America sicker than the sickest man in America. .. as did the blown call on 4th and inches, but then again you know you have only yourself to blame when you need the ball back, and the game’s Patrick’s to cinch.

Getting hungry for more ChabDog Sports Talk?
We know you are, so we’re obliging with the sinfully delicious “2nd Annual, Sinner, Sinner, Pollo Parm Dinner” Show.
Yeah, we’ll cover the potentialities presented by Sunday’s Conference Championships…
Sure, it looks like we could have the usual red and yellow representatives as the “Refs’ Prefs” host
hard luck Buffalo at home. But weirder things have happened, and the Bills look as qualified as ever to move on
to their god-given destination. And speaking of red and yellow, what about those cardiac Commanders, who recently fed
the Lions to the lions, and know are in prime position to mount and stuff the favored Eagles. Is the 5 and then something spread
really justified, or is that proposition purely for the birds.

But our show goes much farther than a down and dirty playdate in the pigskin mosh pit. There’s also the first tennis major to be decided,
as an overgrown Carrot Top, with unusually big sneaks and a bit of a bowlegged gait, looks to repeat as Men’s winner… time to throw another title on the barbie mate?
For the Women, a first Major title for US’s favorite daughter Madison Keys, please?

Tune in tomorrow, with ChabDog, Well-read, Abe, A-ron and any comedic clips we can borrow (I think we’ve got some film noir and “W” from Oliver Stone on tap).

Nobody stated their case better than Ohio St., and now there’s nothing anyone can say to ruin Ryan’s day.

Plant your flag somewhere else, Michigan!

It’s been a tumultuous week at the AO, with Gael force winds putting Fritz on the fritz, and we hear the storm building on this weeks “CDST: Uekeranian Eulogy, Thunder Down Under” Show. Yeah we’ll discuss this week’s playoffs game, the weak prospects for the Texans standing tall, wherther the Eagles stay out of harm’s way against McStan’s Macvay, when Big Dan can eclipse Dan Quinn, and the Ravens-Bills thrillshow. But we’ll make sure you cast your ears on the sweet sound of Dan-yell Collins. And if we have some time left over, we may ponder the possibilities: Jeff Feagles as an Eagle (not a Giant), Haven Moses as a Raven, not a Bills. Bill Belichick as a Bill and not a Heel.

• After an unfortunate trip to the M&T doctor’s office, it’s clear what the Steelers need … A TOMLIN-ECTOMY!
• If Harbaugh wasn’t seen limping out of Houston sans a broken clipboard, he should have been.  Maybe it’s about time we say the Anger Mis-management side of jovial Jim.
• Jayden Daniels was simply relentless, and the Commanders just had too much staying power for the physically and emotionally exhausted Bucs. In another almost unbelievable twist of fate, this game took a couple of fateful turns for the worse for the home team when stone-hands Mayfield mishandled a couple of routine snaps. With that, the wildly erratic season for Tampa finally… abated.
• Eagles manufacture a thorough, if not brutally blunt, undressing of the Packers in cold Philly. Yeah, this result was no doubt painful due to the weather, but it was time through cold water on a season that really seemed to go fatally south a few weeks earlier in Minnesota.
• Major home improvement this week for the Bills, as Josh Allen takes the Broncos very figuratively by the horns and pins them to the turf, without mercy. Ravens beware….

In a few hours, it’s gonna be the start of Wild Card Weekend, and things’ll be getting hot and heavy in the NFL Playoffs. Who’s about to become extinct and who’s putting their feet down with maximum authority…. we’ll banter the subject, and plenty more, on the “The Other Cleat Just Spiked Your Meat” CDST Show. Is Mike Tomlin about to take that Steeler 4-wheeler carreening down Lookout Mountain for another sadistic spill? Can Sam Darnold get the hawk tuah girl off his mind, long enough for the Vikings to stage a real fun desert funeral for the sacrificial Rams. We ponder this and other questions that have been left curiously unanswered for far too long…. like how our own Abe Miranda conquered Barb-fire in the spread pool, and why Karen “Big Mouth” Bass had so little to say at her recent press conference. And time permitting, there’s the college football BS (sorry BCS) finale to consider; ChabDog hasn’t checked, but perhaps making Notre Dame a 5 point dog (is that right?) is just what the joint doctor ordered in South Bend.

Thanks to a thrilling turn of events in the 2nd half, we’ll be hearing more from the Notre Dame Victory March in January! Terrific win for the never-say-die Fighting Irish, who kept on fighting and out-slugged a very game squad from Penn St. Ara is certaining looking down from Heaven and smiling as the Freeman era has officially begun.

HE’S LARGER THAN LIFE.  HE’S THE KARMAC OF THE LAUGH TRACK.

HE’S HONESTLY OUT THERE FOR YOU, FINDING THE WEAK LINK IN EVERY SPREAD.

HE’S THE CHABDOG SPORTS TALK NFL SPREAD SETTING CHAMPION FOR 2024,

COMING IN AT AROUND 60%+ AND ABLE LEAP FROG THE MIGHTY DOROTHY D

IN A SINGLE BOUND.

HE’S POUND FOR POUND THE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT OF ALL LINE LAYERS.

HE’S ABE PAGODA MIRANDA, AND HE’S OUR NO. 1 FOR THE 2ND TIME IN FOUR YEARS.

272 games (271 picked & one tied the spread) over 18 weeks… we witnessed a lot of change of fortune like the Bears were 4 and 2 and Aaron Rodgers was a twat. Abe skillfully navigated the shifting sands of team fortune and won an impressive 159 games!

One of these two (or maybe both) won the 2024 CDST Spread-besting competition.  You both beat the stuffing outta me, so I am not worthy, …. can only seek to follow humbly in your footsteps…. stay tuned for our corporate secretary Well-read’s breakdown of how it ultimately played out.  All I know if I achieved my objective of beating last year’s performance in terms of the numbies and staying outta the dreaded whine cellar.

ChabDog’s Takeaways from Week 18:
— Bryce Young is getting older, and that could be a scary development next year based on what we saw today.
— Steelers still have no clue about how to unglue their stuck-in-the-mud offense; Arthur Treacher Smith needs a teacher.
— What goes around, comes around Green Bay, … you played with fire today against Chicago, got burned, and now and you’re in no shape right now to take down filthy good Philadelphia.
— Rocky Mountain redemption today for Denver today against KC’s 3rd stringers (exactly who were those slim jims on the Chiefs’ d-line?); enjoy it now, because you are gonna get your doors blown off in blustery Buffalo.
— Speaking of The Doors, the Chargers are plugged in and playing power surge football like few others (my bad for douting they could cover today against the frayed Raiders); throw a radio in the Houston whirlpool, because the Texans are in for a big beat down at home next Saturday. Harbaugh’s soft driven and slow mad like some new language!
— Watching Baker shake ‘n bake and scramble for those hearty, heartfelt first downs was beautiful. This team has been through the MASH ward and has come out the other side… stronger. Gotta say the Commanders SHOULD NOT be favored when they make their foray into Tampa Bay.
— Samsonite travels well, but sorry Minnesota but the same can’t be said for Sam, who’ll be a sacrificial norseman come gametime against the Rams.
— Kudos to the Bungles for a good try, but you can never fully repent in Cin City for starting out 4-8. Where’s the beef? It’s not with Joe Cool and his cadre of nifty, shifty flankers; no it’s with the flimsy foundation you guys sport in the trenches.

Hey everyone and welcome to NFL Week 18 where I try to beat the spread every week, make a little money, or brag to my work besties that I simply pick winners cause our state doesn’t allow sports betting yet (fuck you California). At the moment, I’m leading everyone at ChabDog Sports Talk & hope to claim victory for my second time with Chabdog.  However, this time I’m neck and neck with Dorothy Dawn who’s always leading the pack here since she, her friends, her fiance, and her bookie are all fanatical sports fans who eat, live, breathe, and shit sports all day. I want to go to one of her parties with all her sports friends and know that I’ve beaten my co-host at least once which means that I should be able to keep up with everyone else at the party if they come at me with anything sports related…lol. Regardless of who wins, I at least know I have a 58% + ability to pick winning football games against the spread, which in itself is an accomplishment. So take a look below…let me know in the comments section if I fucked this up or on any of my social media handles….let’s fucking gooooooooo.

  | | @gawdbrudder

Here we are at Week 18 and there is no more time for me to improve my dreadful picks record for this season. Mathematically, it is still possible to get back to .500, but that will require an incredible heater, and heaters are difficult when a lot of teams aren’t trying to win this week. Not only that, but the motivations for these teams are fluid and the NFL is too stupid to play all these games at the same time like a proper league would. For example, the five seed in the AFC is valuable because that team gets to travel to feeble Houston in the Wild Card Round instead of Baltimore or Buffalo. If Pittsburgh wins on Saturday, it takes the Chargers out of the running for that spot and they could lay down for the suddenly surging Raiders.

I’ll be taking the Steelers since they are home underdogs (even though that didn’t work last week) and the Chargers with the hope that they are motivated to stomp Las Vegas. The Ravens are now favored by an unheard of 20 points vs. Cleveland because they are playing for the AFC North title, so I’ll get out of their way and lay those points. Washington has clinched a Playoff spot, but there is plenty of reason to win at Dallas because a loss might force the Commies play at Philadelphia in the Wild Card Round instead of at Los Angeles against a Rams offense that has been held under 20 points in three straight games. That same motivation is in play for the Packers, who need a win and a Washington loss to avoid Philly. Speaking the Eagles, they have chosen against embarrassing the Giants by having Saquon Barkley rest instead of shattering the single-season rushing record against them. That gives me hope that Big Blue can end the season with a second straight win. Hopefully there will still be someone talented to select when our first round draft pick finally comes around.

Buffalo is also laying points while resting starters, but I trust Mitch Trubisky enough to give it the nod against New England. Denver is a massive favorite over Kansas City in a must-win game for the Broncos. I think they get the job done, but Carson Wentz playing spoiler would be hilarious, so give me the points in that one. In the great Sunday Night Football game, I like the Lions despite their defensive issues. They might be scarier on offense with Jahmyr Gibbs taking on a heavier workload due to David Montgomery’s injury.

• Someone served up a ton of chewy charred duck at today’s Rose Bowl, … and it wasn’t during the tailgate portion. Sorry Phil, but there’s no more O left in the loss column for OU.
• The many twists and turns of this playoff game made it a real peach. Texas got too passive with a lead that wasn’t massive, but in the end shows it was long on character, when it refused to be scared off by the incredibly resilient Skattebo. Who knew there would be this much fight in ASU. But in the end, the big dog that was the Longhorns of course had to eat, sending the Sun Devils to defeat.

Hey everyone and welcome to NFL Week 17 where I try to beat the spread every week, make a little money, or brag to my work besties that I simply pick winners cause our state doesn’t allow sports betting yet (fuck you California).  So take a look below…let me know in the comments section if I fucked this up or on any of my social media handles….let’s fucking gooooooooo.

| | @gawdbrudder

Merry Christmas! Roger Goodell gave his haters a special gift this year by figuring out how to play NFL football on a Wednesday while lining the owners’ pockets with Netflix money. That’s great news for those of us who thought we would have to watch the NBA on Christmas. The only thing that can make the deal better is if I can get a couple of picks correct. The Steelers are down bad after two straight double-digit losses to Super Bowl contenders, but now they are home underdogs against the Chiefs, and I love their chances to win outright even though Kansas City has finally started covering spreads. In its only other road dog spot this season, Pittsburgh defeated the Ravens outright. In the late game, Baltimore looks to cover as a road favorite for the third time in a row. I’m happy to lay those points with how Lamar Jackson and the offense have played all year.

For the Boxing Day special, I am doing the square thing and taking Seattle. It has been a long time coming, but I finally have confidence in the Seahawks again, even if it is only because they are playing a Chicago team that has lost nine in a row, with the last three coming by at least two scores.

The Chargers coming east on a short week is a little scary, but they play an east coast style of ball, so I will bank on them bludgeoning New England. The Bengals are finally hitting their stride, but I don’t think they hold off Bo Nix and the bucking Broncos. Arizona is in a tailspin, which means that it is time to Ram It. Sean McVay’s team is coming off ATS wins against two other tailspin teams in the 49ers and Jets.

Sunday will feel strange with just nine games on the slate, but Green Bay at Minnesota should be a great game. The spread being fewer than three points is a little disrespectful to the Vikings, so I will roll with them. In the late afternoon, almost everyone will be watching the Cowboys and Eagles. Let’s go with Dallas and the huge number since Dem Boyz have won four of five and have figured out how to run the ball lately. In prime time, I like how Michael Penix Jr. looked in his first start enough to take Atlanta in Washington’s letdown spot. Laying points with the Lions is the squarest pick of the week for me, but they came through as a big road favorite last week, so it must be done.

To the surprise of practically nobody in the viewing public, Green Bay finds taking the ball away from Spencer The Dispenser Rattler’s offense was about as easy as taking a rattle away from a baby.

What we learned today in the NFL —
— Dallas does have some pride after all
— Tampa Bay is jinxed
— New England is both pesky and pitiful at the same time
— Cincy is on a mission… possibly to nowhere
— Cleveland is DOA with DTR
— Miami still looks like one of the best of those who get a rest after Week 18.
— The Rams have a great coach, a great QB, some great receivers, a money RB and a scrappy defense …. which might be all they need to win the NFC
— The Eagles can’t get a Super Bowl ticket with Pickett
— Detroit should not consider Chicago a tune up for anything,… including the Vikings
— Atlanta seems to be rising like a Phoenix, with Penix

Hey everyone and welcome to NFL Week 16 where I try to beat the spread every week, make a little money, or brag to our work besties that we simply pick winners cause our state doesn’t allow sports betting yet (fuck you California).  So take a look below…let me know in the comments section if I fucked this up or on any of my social media handles (note my Week 15 picks were 87.5% on the money). Let’s fucking gooooooooo.

| | @gawdbrudder

I went 9-7 last week and clawed to within 15 games of .500 at 104-119-1 with three weeks to play. That ground is not impossible to make up, but it is going to take foresight, discipline, and some hefty road favorites covering this week. Just look at that Detroit line at Chicago. It’s over a touchdown even though the Lions were shredded on defense last week and nearly allowed a miracle comeback by Caleb Williams on Thanksgiving. So why are we backing Detroit? Because this season, laying the big number with Detroit has paid off. The Lions are 3-1 against the spread when being favored by seven or more, and I expect them to pound the struggling Bears.

I am also taking the Rams, Eagles, Vikings, and Buccaneers as road favorites. They probably won’t all work out, but maybe they will go 3-1 since all four are surging right now while playing inferior competition. I actually like the Giants pick this week since they were able to move the ball a little against Baltimore and Michael Penix Jr. is making his first start for Atlanta. Maybe a rookie mistake or two will help the Giants intercept the ball for the third time this season.

I might not even watch the NFL on Saturday because of the College Football Playoff and a decent college hoops slate, but I expect Kansas City and Pittsburgh to come through for me. The Chiefs have transformed into favorites with the news that Patrick Mahomes is practicing fully this week, so getting two and a half points makes this one the easiest pick on the board. For the Steelers, they failed me as underdogs in Philadelphia, but I’m rolling with them again since they own Lamar Jackson.

Back to Sunday, I am becoming the Carolina whisperer as I smartly jumped off the bandwagon last week when Sir Purr and company became favorites against Dallas. However, now the Cats are back to being dogs and facing a floundering Cardinals team at home. Sign me back up!

Rams Plez. Per JP

Bad news for the haters: None of my fantasy teams made the playoffs, so I have more attention to devote to picks! We are running out of time to make a comeback, but at least I don’t have to worry about how much FAAB money to drop on the waiver wire every week. What I do need to worry about is whether or not the 49ers are back. They burned my strategy of continuing to fade them with their destruction of the Bears, but I think they come back to Earth in a tough divisional game. I am going to Ram It for the first time in a while.

In the next three games, I have big home dogs. The Chiefs never cover, so Cleveland is an easy pick. Cincinnati’s cover in the Simpsons game was a total fluke and Lisa Simpson won’t bail them out this time. Tennessee was terrible against Jacksonville, but I’m sure Will Levis will bounce back now that I’m not relying on him to save my fantasy team. New Orleans is getting way too many points against a Washington team that hasn’t impressed lately.

That brings us to the return of Tommy DeVito to MetLife Stadium. I am actually happy to see him again because Drew Lock was beyond miserable last week, but that doesn’t mean the Giants have a snowball’s chance to beat Baltimore. I think the Ravens win by at least 20 as Derrick Henry attempts a single game rushing record.

The Giants will not be fun to watch, but Dallas at Carolina should be a pretty interesting game considering how bad the record are. The Panthers have been money against the spread as a dog, but I’m not feeling them as a favorite. I think the Cowboys win outright. The Jets are another team I don’t feel great about as a favorite, but I feel better about them than the Jaguars. Plus, Aaron Rodgers is coming off one of his best games a Jet.

Dolphins vs. Texans is close to a toss-up, but I’ll take Houston because of how consistently it runs the ball with Joe Mixon. I feel a lot better about Denver as a home favorite because of how well it has played lately with three straight wins by more than a touchdown. The Lions are still an auto pick because they never lose, and the Steelers get the nod in the underdog spot as usual.

I have to fade the Cardinals, as they have hit the skids with three straight losses. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay has won three straight, but the Chargers are a big step up in competition and should handle the Buccaneers at home. I am going to feel like a fool if I lose against the Seahawks again, but the Packers are playing too well, so we’ll try fading Seattle one more time.

Both home teams look good in the Monday night slate. Sam Darnold has played some of the best football of his career lately for Minnesota, and the Falcons have not played well enough lately for me to trust them against my plucky Raiders.

Dallas can’t leave well enough alone at home, plays with fire on a blocked punt, and suffers its latest Leon Lett moment. All we needed to make this scene complete was a scampering Don Bebe. Score a much needed win for Mr. Blonde ambition Dallas and its red-headed stepchild.

Hey everyone and welcome to NFL Week 14 where we try to beat the spread, make a little money, or brag to our besties that we simply just pick winners cause our state doesn’t allow sports betting (fuck you California). Today I find myself on a flight to Newark, NJ from LA to visit some family on the East Coast and celebrate my dad’s 70th birthday while we pig out on some hotdogs and pizza on an all-guys extended weekend. A far departure from the Caribbean cruise I was on during Week 13 where the weather was a nice 80 something degrees and the drinks were cold and coming. Had a little time on today’s flight to put together my picks since I have no clue where I will be on Saturday and want to make sure we’re all covered here. So take a look…let me know in the comments section if I fucked this up here or on any of my social media handles. Let’s fucking gooooooooo.

|  | @gawdbrudder

I like big dogs and I cannot lie! I am taking the point in nine of the 13 games this week, and I am feeling good about it after going 9-7 in Week 13. It should have been 10-6, but Jameis Winston just could not stop throwing pick sixes. And even when Jameis stopped throwing pick sixes, he tossed a regular old interception in the end zone to ruin the backdoor cover. I am mad at him! But I am still going back to the Browns because we just saw them beat Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago. I am gobbling up those six and a half points! I also can’t resist Chicago since its opponent the 49ers have gone 0-2 against the spread since they inexplicably lost to Seattle and I began fading them. The Raiders and Panthers have also been very plucky lately and continue to attract big spreads. Just look at what AOC did for the Las Vegas offense! I am even loving my Giants this week with Drew Lock under center for the second week in a row. Maybe he finally got some time with the first string offense. If he did, the Giants could have an upset in store for a New Orleans team playing outside of its cozy dome. As for a great favorite to back? The Bills are a juggernaut and have won five of their last six by more than a touchdown.

Famous Jameis was having such a swell time out there, he forgot what his mama told him when he left home to be a pro QB …. never look a gift-horse … in this case a Bronco db … in the mouth … or bad things can happen. Particularly on the short ones, he was play acting the million dollar a year telegraph operator, and that’s a job opening with a pretty short half-life. Browns give themselves wonderful nightmares, a week before they face the music against the Steelers, while Denver can relax for a 2-week coffee break.

Yo Antonio… ever heard of calling a time out … so your disorganized rabble can get organizized? When you come into Arrowhead, you need your @#$@# wired tight. Not usually the case with a notably novice QB…. What was looking like a perfectly orchestrated Silver and Black Friday turns dark and ugly for the Vegas vagabonds, who blow themselves up at the 11th hour with an unforgivable hiccup hike fumble. More smoke and mirrors for the Thiefs~ Ughhhhh

There so much to say about this photo and so little time. I love the comment from Deshaun about ankle massages, and who’s that guy with Jordy at the kids’ table…. and who’s the white guy asking for more dark meat… and why is Patrick Mahomes dressed in Britney’s outfit….and I didn’t know Justin Herbert was so funny…and where was Daniel Jones traded to?

– For the first course — it’s Bear-meat jerky … really leaves a bad taste in your mouth when served Chicago style
I guess if you’re the Bears, TIME REALLY FLIES WHEN YOU’RE NOT HAVING FUN. Melodrama’s so much fun, in black and white for everyone to see. Coach E’s time management flaws make Coach Tomlin look like a flippin genius. Nero may have watched Rome burn, but at least he didn’t watch a timeout burn a hole in his pocket, like this.
— For dinner — a delicious Dallas Turducken
Jr. jockstrap G-men leave Big D once again quite embarrassed, as Overshown shows them up by PICing the Locke.
— For dessert — It’s Tua Creampuffs sandwiched around the sheen of sherbert colored Aqua Marine.
Same old story … it gets a little uncomfy and the Miami pound machine goes into auto-snooze mode… here with a juicy second down at the environs of the Green Bay 1 … McDaniels chooses to go cute, rather than trying to Ram it home on the ground, and disaster ensues. This team just isn’t tough enough to win against the foot-brawlers like the powers of the NFC Norris, among others.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!  I am currently writing this from a cruise ship currently approaching Dominica in the West Indies.  An amazing way to spend Thanksgiving away from the stress of absolutely everything.  I’m sure my entire family hates me right now for being here and not them.  I have a port excursion today to do a million awesome things but we do have good great TV here on the ship and hope to catch a few games.  With that…LFG.

TURKEY DAY

LIONS -10.5  – Sounds like a huge spread until the Lions beat the Bears by at least 2 touchdowns.

COWBOYS -3.5 – Honestly both teams should lose here.

PACKERS -3.5 – Nothing screams Greenbay like 25 degrees and some cheese! I’m from LA…so fuck that!

FRIDAY

CHIEFS -13.5 – The Raiders are simply fucked.  Does anyone even know who their QB is for this game since Gardner Minshew is out for the rest of the season???? Yes, it’s Aidan O’Connell who is coming back from a broken thumb!  GO HIDE IN A CASINO VEGAS CAUSE IT IS GOING TO BE A CATASTROPHE!

SUNDAY

CHARGERS -1.5

STEELERS +2.5

VIKINGS -3.5

PATRIOTS +2.5

SEAHAWKS -1.5

COMMANDERS -5.5

TEXANS -5.5

RAMS -2.5

BUCCANEERS -6.5

EAGLES +2.5

BILLS -6.5

MONDAY

BROWNS +5.5

|  | @gawdbrudder

Yay! It’s Thanksgiving! I don’t have a lot of time to dive into the picks, but I am picking against the Giants because I cannot stand them anymore. They are becoming as big of a circus as the Jets. Maybe Drew Lock can make the game respectable, but I’m not so sure. He led a game-winning drive for Seattle against the Eagles last year, but he must be really bad in practice to make Brian Daboll want to play Tommy DeVito.

The Lions are turning into an automatic play until they prove otherwise. The Raiders missed the backdoor cover by half a freaking yard last Sunday, so I am backing them again because the Chiefs cannot cover against a paper bag. On Sunday, I really like the Buffalo pick because there is snow in the forecast and the 49ers are in a tailspin even if they get Brock Purdy back. In the final game of the week, backing Jameis Winston in another prime time underdog spot feels mandatory.

Ravens wear down the Chargers with a second half push, including some impressive fourth down fist pumping; going for it from inside his own 20 was one of the best decisions big brother ever made, and little bro should definitely go to school on that… once he has the running backs to make it happen. If the Ravens play mistake free football, with a minimum of penalties and zero turnovers, they can beat the vast number of teams in this league, anytime and anywhere.

What we learned today —
— Bears can do amazing things when properly motivated, and they are always interested in ripping my heart out with a few last second garbage scores or defensive meltdowns
— The Commanders aren’t ready to command my attention for anything.
— The Eagles have the enough firepower to beat anyone… including the Lions
— Giants are just what the doctor ordered… for nearly everyone.
— The Chiefs continue their ripoff tour…. another cheesy road win in Scarolina… and I got sucked into thinking they’d cover, once more
— Thank you god for not letting the Raiders put that last, utterly meaningless TD on the board and getting rid of the Ridder threat
— I promise never to pick the Patriots again for … anything
— I told you CJ Stroud ain’t all that, but I forgot to listen to myself
— The Niners are done, even if nobody wants to admit it.

Hey everyone & welcome back to my kick-ass blog where I make 58% accurate picks Against The Spread (ATS) for free while proving that I’m a better choice than literally flipping a quarter (also tied for first amongst everyone at ChabDog Sports Talk)! Below is my SZN breakdown:

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) WEEK 4:  9/16 (56%) WEEK 5: 7/14 (50%)  WEEK 6: 10/14 (71%) WEEK 7: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 8: 10/16 (63%) WEEK 9: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 10: 7/14 (50%) WEEK 11: 9/14  SEASON RECORD (ATS): 96/165 + 1 Push (58%)

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: 

I texted our producer and told him I was “taking the chalk” (favored team) and going with the Steelers (-3.5) against the Browns.  Of course, Mother Nature had to dump an ass-ton of snow and prove to everyone that snow + using multiple QBs was the Steelers’ kryptonite. Proof once again…that football isn’t always predictable no matter how favored you think a team is.  The good news is that it only happens to me 42% of the time! With that being said, let’s take a look at the rest of my Week 12 picks for your entertainment.

|  | @gawdbrudder

I feel lost. Another subpar performance in Week 11 has me questioning all my gambling instincts. Should I stick with my guns, or just fade myself? At 11 games under .500 for the season, I am going to trust myself and keep hacking away at this deficit!

The Steelers were an easy call as a home underdog last week. As a road favorite? Not so much. Give me Famous Jameis and the Browns.

Caleb Williams and the Bears couldn’t take advantage of the dead cat bounce that they got from firing an offensive coordinator. They played well but failed against Green Bay, and now they will be smothered by Minnesota’s defense.

They can’t make a spread high enough for Detroit. It would be great for my fantasy team if Jonathan Taylor could control the clock and keep the Colts in the game, but Indianapolis’ run game has been mediocre lately.

The Pats have been a rare bright spot against the spread for me since they got blown out by Jacksonville. New England barely failed to cover against the Rams, but I am sticking with Drake Maye and company with a touchdown and the hook in Miami.

Giants only getting three and a half with Tommy DeVito under center? This pick is as sharp as they come.

Make that two straight blowout losses for the Cowboys with Cooper Rush under center. We will keep fading. Kansas City should also win big after Buffalo ruined its perfect season. Look for Xavier Worthy to get more involved, as he gave the Bills problems last week.

The Texans seemed to get back on track with that win over Dallas, but I still think they are fraudulent. Why is no one talking about C.J. Stroud’s sophomore slump? I guess the wide receiver injuries are an excuse, but he should still be playing better.

I have labeled the Raiders as a frisky team since they upset Baltimore in Week 2, but they haven’t been all that frisky lately. That number is suspiciously low, though.

Green Bay is my favorite pick of the week. The 49ers are dead to me after losing to a Seattle team that the Giants beat while giving up a 101-yard fumble return touchdown.

Wait, I think Arizona is my real favorite pick of the week. The Cardinals have been a good team for a month now and Seattle still stinks.

I really want to Ram It, but the Eagles are too good. It really makes me sad how good the Eagles are. I have to lay the number with them and hope they lose to Detroit in the Playoffs.

The Chargers showed a lot of heart by not blowing that game to Cincinnati after they lost all the momentum. It helped that Evan McPherson was feeble, but I have no issue Bolting Up with Los Angeles as a home underdog.

ChabDog’s Super-appreciation and Super-ass awards for Week 11 (or this week’s results, from bottom to top) :
1) Super-appreciation — McConkey (for his megatron catch) and Dobbins (for his jumping jack vault into the end zone} to cinch the Chargers’ winning drive), Boswell (who still knows how to kick well), Allen (who took the Buffalo by the horns) and finally drove the stake into Chief Dracula’s heart (thank you god!), the entire New Orleans offense (which finally came out of that ridiculous coma), and Nix (who didn’t wallow but told his teammates to follow)
2) Super-ass — Jumpy Justin and a very fearful McPherson (the latest well-adjusted kickers to just go psycho), ChabDog (for actually believing that the Slackers who do more than Bearly win), the guy coaching the Ti-tans (for still loving “leave those points on the table Levis”, and ChabDog (worst of all — for actually believing the Jets would not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory)

Hey everyone & welcome back to my kick-ass blog where I make 50% + accurate picks Against The Spread (ATS)! Rolling into Week 11 with a 58% SZN winning percentage (ATS) and tied for first place among my co-hosts at ChabDog Sports (see below)!

You damn right I have to brag about this every week!  These are hardcore football people and it’s an absolute honor to be able to keep up with them…especially Dorothy Dawn who lives, eats, and shits football all day along with every single person she hangs out with in her life..including her dad, “Packers Bob”,  who’s been on our show multiple times and attended the Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field in 1967.  So being tied with Dorothy and her army is incredible since all my time is focused on my full-time job, my social media content game, and clearing out my bedroom to make room for a gaming studio for future Twitch streams. So yeah, fuck all of you I’m winning and taking names…LMAO!!!  Anyways…..before considering my Week 11 Scrumdidilyumptious ATS Picks, here is my SZN resume for your review.

Resume:

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) WEEK 4:  9/16 (56%) WEEK 5: 7/14 (50%)  WEEK 6: 10/14 (71%) WEEK 7: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 8: 10/16 (63%) WEEK 9: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 10: 7/14 (50%)  SEASON RECORD (ATS): 87/151 + 1 Push (58%)

OK, now that we’re all caught up and you’re still willing to read my scumbag-ass picks, let’s fucking go NFL Week 11 (thank you for acknowledging I’m one of theeeeee best at ChabDog Sports to do it this SZN)!

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: 

I texted our producer and told him I was taking the chalk (favored team) and going with the Eagles (-3.5).  My Thursday Night Football chalk picks have been extremely shitty the last couple of weeks so this made me a little hesitant to pick the Eagles. Still, you got to look at every game as a new situation and felt that the Eagles had enough offensive weapons to beat the Commanders and I wasn’t wrong since the Eagles beat them by 8 points. So I’m already 1/1 for Week 11 along with our producer who also picked them.

|  | @gawdbrudder

Week 11 was looking not so terrible for me, but then I was burned by Detroit and the Rams in prime time. The Lions did not show up for the first half and I still only lost on the hook, while the Rams were unable to ram the ball into the end zone against Miami’s defense. My overall mark is now 72-79-1. That is not good, but it is still close enough to .500 that I can talk myself into getting there by chipping away for the rest of the season.

I actually hate the Washington pick, but I need Jayden Daniels to cook in order to save my fantasy season instead of handing the ball off near the goal line like he did in the loss at Pittsburgh. The Eagles are rolling and could give the Commanders a harsh dose of reality, but I’m usually wrong, so I might as well go with my heart here.

It’s impossible to pick Chicago until Caleb Williams shows improvement. Will a new offensive coordinator do the trick? Probably not, but even if it does, Green Bay can score a lot of points.

Speaking of scoring, the Lions figure to smoke Jacksonville and backup quarterback Mac Jones as long as Jared Goff refrains from throwing five interceptions. The Vikings barely got out of Jacksonville with a win last week, so I’ll grab Tennessee and the points. Sam Darnold has thrown five picks in his last two games.

The Dolphins were spunky as an underdog in Los Angeles, but I’ll fade them as a favorite. Miami will be dramatic and win by a field goal.

I’ll attempt to Ram It again since Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp both played well in the loss on Monday. If Matthew Stafford or Kyren Williams can ram the ball into the end zone a few times, Los Angeles should cover.

Are the Saints back? I’m not so sure. I will go with a Jameis Winston revenge spot instead. Pittsburgh getting points at home is an auto pick, Anthony Richardson is a bigger disaster than even the Jets, and Denver still does not get credit.

The 49ers are reloaded with McCaffrey and Pearsall and they won in Tampa despite missing three field goals. They should crush Seattle.

The Chiefs will finally run out of luck against Buffalo, the Bengals are desperate, and the Cowboys have faced a brutal schedule. This Houston game is their easiest in several weeks and they will find a way to cover.

Big No. 2 ChabDog picks himself up from the dead, after enduring another utterly pointless beating from the Week 10 spread, and comes through with his totally random picks for the more rational Sports Rock pick ’em pool for Week 11. Just hope I don’t step in No. 2 in the process.
1) TNF- COMMANDERS @ EAGLES– The Commanders have lost some command and control. GOING EAGLES, AND IT’S TOTALLY LEGAL!
SUN NOV. 17:
2) AM- RAVENS @ STEELERS — So sorry to burst the bubble of all my Maryland friends (I think I still have a few) BUT THE STEELERS TOTALLY OWN THE DEPRAVED RAVENS…. GOING ALL IN FOR THE STEELERS!
3) AM – PACKERS @ BEARS — If the Bears can’t hanlde the Patiots, they certain can’t handle the PACKERS… going to stay with my instincts and staying with GREEN BAY
4) AM- COLTS @ JETS — Jets are in total yo yo mode… up one week and down another… this is an up week… and Joe Flacco is just killing time, not to mention Indy’s hopes and dreams… GOING WITH THE JETS BABY!!!!
5) PM- FALCONS @ BRONCOS — Broncos will certainly come into this game sleepless and grouchy but a bad attidue only gets you so far…. however, the Falcones never win big games on the road… and yet I think Koo Koo with the magic shoe makes another appearance… GOING WITH FALCONES!!!
6) PM- CHIEFS @ BILLS — Please for the love of freaking god, dear God, I implore you to send fire and brimstone raining down on the infernal Chiefs and give Buffalo this victory they so dearly deserve. Fact is the Bills are a better team… except for their wrestling coach…. omg I just cannot bring myself to pick the Chiefs. GOING BILLS OR i’M GONNA SHAVE MY HEAD AND LEAVE THE FREAKING COUNTRY LMAO…
7) SNF- BENGALS @ CHARGERS
MON NOV. 18: — Mack is going to have a Big Mac attack chomping down on Mr. Blonde Ambition…. this has Charger 3 piont victory written all over it
😎 MNF- TEXANS @ COWBOYS — I still don’t think the Texans are that good… but as for the Cowboys, they’ve got nothing going on but a very mushy Cooper Rush slush fund… time for another telethon Jerry! GOING WITH THE TEXANS… and please CJ get that eye of the tiger back…. lately you’ve been resembling a llama.

Hey everyone & welcome back to the start of the 3rd Quarter of the regular NFL SZN! Rolling into this bitch with a 58% winning percentage (ATS) and tied for first place among my co-hosts at ChabDog Sports!

You damn right I have to brag about this!  These are hardcore football people and it’s an absolute honor to be able to keep up with them…especially Dorothy who lives, eats, and shits football all day along with every single person she hangs out with in her life..including her dad, “Packers Bob”.  So being tied with Dorothy and her army is incredible since all my time is focused on my full-time job, my social media content game, and figuring out my gaming studio cave situation. So yeah, fuck all of you I’m winning…LMAO!!!  Anyway…..before considering my Week 10 Scrumdidilyumptious ATS Picks, here is my SZN resume for your review.

Resume:

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) WEEK 4:  9/16 (56%) WEEK 5: 7/14 (50%)  WEEK 6: 10/14 (71%) WEEK 7: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 8: 10/16 (63%) WEEK 9: 9/15 (60%)   SEASON RECORD (ATS): 80/137 + 1 Push (58%)

OK, now that we’re all caught up and you’re still willing to read my scumbag-ass picks, let’s fucking go NFL Week 10 (thank you for acknowledging I’m one of theeeeee best at ChabDog Sports to do it this season)!

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: 

I looked at the spread & decided to take “the chalk” (Baltimore -6.5) only to eat shit again.  Of course, the Ravens had to play some weird AF football but were able to win by a single point instead of 6.5 points. The Bengals kept it interesting but dropped the ball when it mattered the most…a tough loss for Bengals fans.

|  | @gawdbrudder

Hold onto to that rope, or let go if you want, …. maybe the freedom from the shackles of common sense will set you free…

After Baltimore’s Thursday night betrayal I really don’t know what to think, other than sometimes my instincts on the marginal advantage one team has really doesn’t stink…. that being said, in the immortal words of Maggie from Caddyshack, “Tanks for nothin, ChabDog” —

— Going G-men over Carolina (giving four and half to the Panthers) — Yes, the Giants should win this game…. I don’t care where it is being played, and it’s time they started living large… at the expense of the Stink Panthers, as part of the NFL’s endless foreign exchange program.

— I like the Bears in this game…. but I don’t like them by 6.5… the Patriots should hang in there and make this interesting

— Here we go again,…. taking issue with the Dolts’ duller than dull offfense… who cares where they are playing, they still totally suck in terms of scoring aptitude… look for the Bills to regain their attitude iwth a big win

— Denver’s offense looks dead once again, and the Chiefs continue to swindle me whenver I think of them as their former high octane selves…..but c’mon KC is a simple 10 point victory at home too much to ask… like last week, I’m taking the bait for the Chiefs, because I can’t countenace drawing any kind of line with Diggs

— I’m feelin it for the Falcons, who have a good coach, a good QB (I can’t believe I’m saying that), some tasty Rijon at running back, some fairly good receivers, and a decent-to-better than avg defense… and that’s a lot more than the “Aints have going for them

— Kudos to the SF Niners, who may have found some of their lost swagger, and was last week’s loss by the Bucs a total dagger? Yes and no to those two question, but I think the defending NFC champs have too many weapons … give TB the 6.5 and take your chances.

— Steelers had two weeks to recharge those batteries, and the battery of Wison Pickets  will be rocking and rolling at the 10 am pacific hour.  The Commies will lose, and Vegas will rue the day they made them the favs.

— Yes, Minny covered last week, but their offense production has been nothing less than spotty.  The Jags, meanwhile, continue to score in decent quantities, and at home, I think 4.5 is just a little too rich for my blood.  Going Jags, even if it means I should have my head examined.

— Like Stella, the Chargers are really starting to find their grrove backM  Though the Ti-tans showed me something last week, I think the bots can turn the screws on TN to the tune of at least an 8-point victory.

— ,  More home humliation for the Cowboys?  Eagles should win but I’m going out on a bit of limb in saying that Micah Parson comes limping in and gives that beaten to hell defense a bit of a lift.  Boys to beat that insulting Philly spread of +6.5.

—   I’m officially on the AZ bandwagon, and personally buying the car seat for fun-sized Kyler, who no kidding, is filling some pretty big shoes these days.It should be a pretty entertaining game with the Jets, but the Cards should slip by in the late Arizona afternoon … by at least 2.

— Don’t care who is coming back for the Texans…. they’ll feel beseiged and bereft of alternatives or viable options when the Lions come to down.  Detroit giving only 3.5…. are you kidding?

— Rams slam the door shut on the Dolphins, who came to Sofi looking for a break, and get swallowed up in an eqrthquake of a statement game for Stafford.

3 yards too far for Ja’Marr, Joe and the snake-bitten Bangles…. who were angling for a huge upset victory in Ballmer but end up just another team that stepped in No. 2 when it took the greedy option and went for 2.
Give the Ravens credit for coming out of that extended coma just in time for another ridiculous run-up of instant gratification TDs, and thank you very little for playing with the notion of covering that 6.5, only to give nearly all of it away in a final 90 seconds or so that played like “Here to Eternity”….heaven help me for changing my pick in favor of the Purple Rush ruffians covering that plush spread.

Giants are favored?! Send it! Caleb Williams stinks again, Buffalo and Kansas City are wagons, Saints are beyond terrible, 49ers are back, Steelers will slow down Cinderella Commies, Jaguars keep it close against Minnesota, Bolts destroy Titans, Eagles will screw me again by allowing dumb backdoor cover, Cardinals keep getting disrespected, Lions are a juggernaut, RAM IT.

HALFWAY THROUGH THE SEASON…LFGOOOOO NFL WEEK 9! As always, have to celly double-digit Ws last week going 10/16 (63%) which is always great when the goal is to have a SZN record greater than .500! Before considering my Week 9 Scrumdidilyumptious ATS Picks, here is my season resume for your review.

Resume:

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) WEEK 4:  9/16 (56%) WEEK 5: 7/14 (50%)  WEEK 6: 10/14 (71%) WEEK 7: 9/15 (60%) WEEK 8: 10/16 (63%) SEASON RECORD (ATS): 71/122 + 1 Push (58%)

OK, now that we’re all caught up and you’re still willing to read my scummy bag picks, lets fucking go NFL Week 9 (thank you for acknowledging you still have a better shot with my picks below than LITERALLY flipping a quarter)!

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: 

I looked at the spread & decided to take “the chalk” (Texans -.5).  CLEARLY this was a bad pick because WTF Texans! To be fair, I don’t think anyone realistically had the Jets beating the Texans by more than a touchdown on their BINGO card, but here we are.

|  | @gawdbrudder

We’re throwing everything we got up on the walls of our Hermosa Beach studio, just to see what’ll stick. But unlike for your friendly local compactor, once it’s out there, there’s a no return policy, so sbsorb it at your own risk. Lots to talk about, including Dallas trying to burn its way out of the GA dome, the Aints painted into a corner as prohibitve favorite in Scarolina, the Packers now pressured to pick up their lethargic offense against Detroi at Lambeau, and the Bangles trying to make hay against the Raiders. Plus, Dodger rooters are replaced by Dodger looters as the World Series celebration pre-party runs amok, turning an LA Metrobus into a sizzling pile of floating Kingford. Commentary on the Ravens’ plush, purple rush helmets from hell, what the hell they were they thinking when they flubbed up the mascot for the “Utah Hockey Club”, clips galore, and so much more.

As much fun as it would have been to watch the Yankees fans who took the ball away from Mookie Betts become more and more famous, I have to say that I am happy about the New York Yankees being eliminated last night. With Steve Cohen at the helm, the Mets have a chance to battle for New York baseball supremacy, and that battle would be going downhill if it started with a Yankees World Series championship. Now we’ll see if Cohen will bid against the Yankees for one of their superstars. He was absent when it was Aaron Judge in free agency, but now is another great opportunity to get Juan Soto to Queens with the Mets coming off a successful season and searching for sustainability. No matter what the optimistic Mets fans tell you, there’s no guarantee that the future is bright or that the Mets return to the Postseason in 2025. Too much has to go right, especially with the makeshift pitching rotation. Bringing in Soto to pair with Lindor at the top of the order would solidify the Mets’ foundation, at least on offense.

Soto has only raised his free agency stock with a dominant October. He hit .327/.469/.633 after coming off an incredible regular season in which he set a career high in home runs and WAR. On Wednesday night, he walked three times to set the table for Aaron Judge, who finally came through with a home run in the first inning and made it look like the Yankees were on their way back to Los Angeles. Heading into the fifth inning, Gerrit Cole was rolling, Judge was back, and Yankees fans were thinking that a shocking comeback was close to reality.

Oh wow…

Another mistake from the Yankees defense as nobody covers 1st and the Dodgers are on the board! pic.twitter.com/BACmr6IKkM

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 31, 2024

Then the Yankees got sloppy with Judge inexplicably dropping a soft liner hit right to him and Anthony Volpe bouncing a throw to third base on a ball hit to his right. The back-to-back (and belly-to-belly) errors loaded the bases for Los Angeles, but Cole appeared to right the ship with strikeouts of Gavin Lux and Shohei Ohtani. Yankee Stadium was ready to erupt when Mookie Betts followed with a routine ground ball to first base, but Cole for no reason at all refused to cover the base, allowing Betts to reach on a “single” by beating Anthony Rizzo in a foot race.

Yankees fans and baseball fans in general will be talking about that play for a long time. What if Cole remembers his PFP and closes out that inning with no runs allowed? Certainly, the Yankees go on to win Game 5, but what happens after that? Would they continue the miracle comeback in Los Angeles? We’ll never know because the floodgates opened for the Dodgers. Freddie Freeman lined a base hit up the middle and Teoscar Hernandez doubled over Judge’s head in center field. Those hits drove in two runs apiece and Los Angeles came out of the frame with a 5-5 tie. Although the Yankees, again sparked by a Soto walk, regained the lead in the 6th on a Giancarlo Stanton sac fly, the Dodgers struck back in the eighth with a pair of sac flies following a Tommy Kahnle meltdown that loaded the bases with no outs.

Blake Treinen and Walker Buhler shut down New York in the final two frames, and the celebration was on for the Dodgers. The massive investments that the front office made in Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto paid dividends right away, and the franchise had its first full-season title since 1988. Meanwhile, the Yankees are left continuing their hunt for a 28th World Series title and I get a few months of not having to worry about getting left out of a New York City ticker-tape parade.

Maybe that next parade won’t come from a baseball team, though. The Knicks delivered a big road win in what I called a must-win game in Miami! Trailing by as many as 13 early in the third quarter, the Knicks stormed back and won the game 116-107 thanks to an elite performance from Karl-Anthony Towns. Hopefully it is the first of many, as Big Meow scored 44 points on 17-for-25 shooting. Now that is the kind of player that it is worth giving up Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo for. Towns scored from inside and outside and pulled down 13 rebounds as well. He wasn’t consistent in the NBA Playoffs last season, but the upside that Towns shows when he is great is why I believed in the trade when the Knicks made it. This is a guy who can help the Knicks compete with the best of the best in the NBA. New York is off on Halloween and visits Detroit on Friday.

Welcome to spoooooooky season! Wait, it’s been spooky season for a while? I haven’t noticed because my betting record has been spookier than even the creepiest ghouls, goblins, and Jets fans. But last week I went 10-6! Finally, winning has returned to this column. The climb back to .500 continues into November!

Houston -0.5 at NY Jets

Fading the Jets has been a key point in my turnaround, so we are not stopping now, even though the line is BEGGING me to take Jets. I refuse despite the injuries to Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs for Houston. The Texans proved two weeks ago at Green Bay that they could cover the spread without much of passing game. In that one, they lost to the Packers in the final seconds with just 86 passing yards from C.J. Stroud.

Dallas +2.5 at Atlanta

A Cowboys loss would drop them to 3-5, and they have been way too consistent over the past few years to have that kind of record. If the Dallas offense performs the way it did during its wild comeback attempt at San Francisco, they could win by a couple of scores. If not, I like the points in a game that could come down to the wire.

Miami +6.5 at Buffalo

It has been unseasonably warm in the Northeast lately, so the Dolphins shouldn’t be too chilly in Buffalo. Tua Tagovailoa’s first game back from his concussion was a disaster, but not because of the offense. Miami should score enough to cover.

Las Vegas +7.5 at Cincinnati

We will keep the road dog train going (the Houston line has shifted) with the Raiders. They have covered big lines for me against Baltimore and Kansas City this season.

LA Chargers -2.5 at Cleveland

Jameis Winston and Cedric Tillman have formed a connection that gave the Cleveland offense a huge lift in their upset win over the Ravens last week. It is tempting to ride that momentum, but I think the Browns come back to Earth for a week, even if the quarterback change is good for the long run.

New England +3.5 at Tennessee

Speaking of quarterback changes, the New England offense has been decent since Drake Maye took over. He is now in concussion protocol, but I like the Patriots even if he’s out. They have shown more life than Tennessee lately.

Denver at Baltimore -8.5

Denver is has won five of six and Baltimore is coming off of a brutal loss. The Broncos’ schedule has been super soft, though. Ravens get back on track with a dominant win.

Washington at NY Giants +3.5

Apart from the Philadelphia disaster, the Giants have played up to their competition and have made their games competitive. They also should have beaten Washington in Week 2 if not for their kicker situation. Jayden Daniels is electric, but he didn’t find the end zone last week until the Hail Mary, and he didn’t find it at all in these teams’ first meeting.

New Orleans at Carolina +6.5

This is like Trump supporters vs. the island of Puerto Rico. Just take the points.

Jacksonville at Philadelphia -7.5

I have to admit that the Eagles are a wagon. It really sucks, but I will not let it cost me any more picks.

Chicago at Arizona -1.5

These feisty Cardinals are just finding ways to win! Kyler Murray has exciting young weapons to throw to, and the schedule is manageable. Arizona could end up as a division champ.

Detroit at Green Bay +4.5

Jordan Love is trending towards playing, and this could be an amazing shootout that comes down to the final drive. Four points is very generous even though the Lions are a juggernaut.

LA Rams +1.5 at Seattle

The Atlanta win looks like a blip on the radar for the Hawks, as they have not been able to slow down anybody else. The Rams should score plenty with Matthew Stafford coming off a four-touchdown performance.

Indianapolis +6.5 at Minnesota

Joe Flacco is back in command, and that means that the Indianapolis offense is great again. Colts should be able to at least cover in Minnesota.

Tampa Bay at Kansas City -8.5

I was finally right in fading the Chiefs last week, so now I can start riding them. That spread looks very big, but I take it as a challenge.

It has been a rough week for New York sports. At least Yankees fans got to see their team bounce back and show some life in an 11-4 spanking of the Dodgers. Now those Yankees fans get to pretend that they had their team’s back the whole way when in reality they were all saying that the World Series was over after Game 3. Don’t they know what happens to the Dodgers in a bullpen game? Dave Roberts should know, but he keeps using the dumb strategy anyway.

I was rooting for the Yankees to get embarrassed, so I am stuck with trying to get joy out of the Knicks and Rangers. That shouldn’t be too hard given that the Rangers are a wagon and the Knicks are expected to compete for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Knicks are off to a 1-2 start and the Rangers just lost to the Capitals in a game that saw seven goals scored in the first 25 minutes of play. I turned the game on midway through the second period with the Caps leading 4-3.  I figured that the Blueshirts were due for a comeback since they score around five goals per game, but instead neither team put the puck in the net until Washington got an empty-net goal in the final minute.

What an effort from Pro here pic.twitter.com/gvQwcccJym

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 30, 2024

Many fans don’t even want the Rangers to win during the regular season because of the “curse” on the Presidents’ Trophy, but I am greedy and want the Rangers to be the team to break the curse. Gotta beat the Caps to do that, and you can’t beat the Caps when you’re beating outshot 46-19. Rangers need to rebound against Ottawa at home on Friday.

As for the Knicks, they looked like they were in control for much of the night against Cleveland, but then Darius Garland decided to stop missing field goals. He scored 15 of the his 34 points in the fourth quarter, and Cleveland outscored New York by 10 in the period to win 110-104.

Darius Garland is HOT in the 4Q 👀

13 PTS in the quarter… 32 for the game!

Cavs lead the Knicks by 3 with under 2 to play on NBA League Pass ⤵️ https://t.co/CDp6cvpg0Y pic.twitter.com/qsCOEhOeTw

— NBA (@NBA) October 29, 2024

The Knicks seem to have all the tools to make a run at the NBA Finals following the trade for Karl-Anthony Towns. Him and Jalen Brunson should form an inside-outside combo that is impossible to guard while Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby lock down the perimeter on defense. That is the theory, but it is not playing out on the court so far because KAT is so passive and loves settling for 25-foot jumpers. He scored just 13 points in 32 minutes in Monday night’s loss while Brunson shot 8-for-24. The Knicks need more from those guys when Garland is shooting lights out. New York hits the road tonight with a game in Miami, and it is as must-win as it gets in October.

Speaking of tonight, the Yankees will try to continue their World Series comeback with Gerrit Cole on the mound against Jack Flaherty and the Dodgers. Last night, a lot of fans got bent out of shape when a Yankees fan ripped a foul ball out of Mookie Betts’ glove.

"Well, A for effort."

Fan interference was called on this play where a Yankee fan tried to take the ball out of Mookie Betts' glove after an out. pic.twitter.com/iZ6taImncd

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 30, 2024

Who says there’s no home field advantage in baseball?! Sure, it’s a bit of a security issue that fans are manhandling one of the top players in the game. MLB should kick those goons out of Yankee Stadium for the rest of the World Series and let them watch at Billy’s, where they can bathe in adoration and fame. If I was a Yankees fan, I would love that these guys are making the Dodgers a little uncomfortable after the Bombers rolled over for them three games in a row.

Instead of giving the Yankees fans credit for taking matters into their own hands, some Mets fans in my Twitter feed decided that their behavior was an example of society’s downfall.

https://twitter.com/PetitePhD/status/1851632261554446739

Yeah, it’s definitely the times we live in that are the big difference between Bartman and the Yankees fans. It’s certainly not that Bartman accidentally took an out away from his own team at a critical juncture in the game. I’m very confident that if Bartman had taken an out away from the Marlins and allowed the Cubs to rally and win the pennant, he would be remembered a LITTLE differently. Likewise, if the Yankees fans had taken the ball out of Juan Soto’s glove? I’m not sure they make it out of the Stadium alive.

I’m still rooting for the Dodgers because I cannot stand Yankees fans and I cannot stand being a second-class citizen Mets fan. At least if the Yankees pull this off, it will drive some of the haters and losers insane along with me.

Thank you God, for letting me see this memorable manifestation of Steeler MNF magic. We had a frenzied crowd, a 100+ plus grind out game from nails Najee, George Pickens picking those catches out of the air without a care (but get that other foot down next time, it will win you more points for style than you know), a calm, cool and reflective Russ, who spread the ball around and kept our minds at ease with the flicks he had up his sleeve, Calvin Austin III with two dazzling TDs, and of course the mostly smothering defense, led by our edge rusher wrecking balls. Give the Giants credit for hanging in there, but that ridiculous perversion of a two-point conversion try was just a hopeless harbinger of bad things to come.

It could have been the one of the greatest Sundays in recent memory — instead here’s how the carnage unfolded:
–Philly pounded the Bungles repeatedly and without mercy in the second half, after things had started rather favorably for Cincy. Hurts was on target and the tush push, not to mention the rest of the Eagle rushing attack, showed up. And I don’t know what happened to the revitalized Bungle d-line. No, there was no vitality. My bad.
— The irresponsible Ravens fiddled and diddled there way to a loss, one that they truly deserved. Famous Jameis is again famous, and they’re doing the crab leg walk in the dog pound. Again, my bad.
— The Lions did show up in a big way. Dorothy Dawn, your bad. Yes, they were more than interested. Pat myself on the freaking back for that ballsy call… lol
— My Cardinals (no… Gidget’s Cardinals) made me proud by defying the big crowd that came to the return of Tua. You go Fun-sized Kyler. My good.
— The Jets walked me down the primrose path, taking a pretty commanding lead on the Patsies, only to wilt a drooping venus fly trap in the face of a furious fourth quarter dead cat bounce by New England. My bad for thinking this game would go like the encounter earlier this year at Metlife.
— Atlanta, almost unexpectedly, held on for dear life, and covered in the always up close and personal meeting with the fagged out Bucs. The Bucs did give it 110%, but now find themself in the bowels of the AFC South, save the very bottom flour inhabited by Scarolina. My good.
— The Packers had the spread handled, or at least technically in hand, until they fells asleep in the 4th, woke up with the usual 3 point win. Ditto for the Texans-Cots. My double bad.
— The Bills oil spilled the Wee-hawks. Is that a defense I’m seeing that could actually stand up to KC. My good for relying on old reliable.
— Chargers manipulate the Aints into a very predictable 18 point loss, which must have been as exciting as standing in a bank line. My good for knowing Rattler would be rattled and Harbaugh would recover his pants, lost in Arizona last week.
— Carolina continues to look not very nice with Bryce, while it increasingly appears Bo knows football again.
— Chiefs did what they often do, dominate a game but do just enough to screw me when I give them my whole hearted support. Or maybe its the Raiders screwing with me?
— Commanders really rip my heart out with that amazing hail Jaden; nearly crashed my bike on my ride home when that result flashed on my phone. Thanks Bears, and my double bad… as I changed my initial pick thinking Daniels wouldn’t be playing.
— Boyz took their eyes off of the ball, lose a lead and then nearly win (and cover); but it was all for nothing, as the final margin for the Niners was 6, not 5.5. Let’s face it,…. post-op Dak just doesn’t want to run for it, and that really limits his team’s down-the-field potentials. My bad.

Welcome back everyone to NFL WEEK 8!  I would love to celebrate 11 picks right last week (Week 7) if it wasn’t me losing two by half a point. Like Vegas, we’ll have to settle with cashing in only 9/15 (60%) of my bets.  Before you consider my Week 8 Scrumdidilyumptious ATS Picks here is my season resume for your review.

Resume:

WEEK 1: 10/16 (62.5%) WEEK 2: 8/15 + 1 Push (53.3%)  WEEK 3: 8/16 (50%) WEEK 4:  9/16 (56%) WEEK 5: 7/14 (50%)  WEEK 6: 10/14 (71%) WEEK 7: 9/15 (60%) SEASON RECORD (ATS): 61/106 + 1 Push (58%)

OK, now that we’re all caught up and you’re still willing to read my scumbag picks, lets fucking go NFL Week 8 (thank you for knowing that you still have a better shot with my picks below than LITERALLY flipping a quarter)!

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL: 

OK…I messed up royally and expected much more from the Vikings.  Of course, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua come back from the IR for the Rams like rock stars and blow the Vikings out of the water. It is what it is.  Unlike the past two Thursdays, I didn’t take the chalk…but consciously picked the Vikings to do better even though they are the chalk…no bueno….one pick already in the gutter.

|  | @gawdbrudder

Baltimore by at least 10… why not. Going Baltimore in Brown town.
Detroit by over 10 against the Titans. Why not. Going Detroit.
Arizona gets it close against Miami. Arizona.
Jets by at least 7 against New England. Why not. Jets.
Atlanta getting 2.5 against the beaten up Bucs. I’ll make some bucks on that one. Atlanta
Going with the Bears Sunday unless Jaden Daniels’ prognosis changes. Bears to win.
Jville is on a roll and will beat the 4.5 spread. Green Bay didn’t cover last week and they won’t this week with the Jags.
Houston will demolish Indy. Going Houston.
Chargers will get well against the Saints, even though they have no running game. Saints have no “game”. Taking Chargers giving with the ridiculous 7.5
Bufffalo giving 2.5 against the Sea-men… Yes going Buffalo
Cincy gets by Phlly by 3. Taking Cincy.
Denver by more than a TD against Scarolina. As with Elway’s two Super seasons, the winning here will be back to back.
Vegas has mailed it in. Going with the Chiefs giving 10.5
Dallas will come back strong against SF, which is depleted. Taking Cowboys getting 5.5.
5.5 is usually a ton of points for the Steelers, but look who they’re playing. Going Steelers.

I was doing very well last week up until Monday Night Football. The Pittsburgh lock worked out well thanks to the Jets’ continued incompetence and Washington predictably destroyed Carolina despite the injury to Jayden Daniels that will torpedo my fantasy football season. My card was looking really good when Tampa Bay jumped out to an early lead on Baltimore, but then Lamar Jackson ruined all the fun and Baker Mayfield threw a pair of mind-numbing interceptions to help him out. In the ESPN+ game that no one watched, the Chargers failed to reach the end zone and lost to the Cardinals while Cameron Dicker scored more fantasy points than Kyler Murray to hand me a fantasy loss in a match that I had in the bag. Talk about the worst of both worlds.

So that is how I ended up 7-8 and below .500 for a third straight week. The overall record is 49-57-1. Let’s turn it around!

Minnesota at LA Rams +3.5

The Vikings finally suffered a loss last Sunday against Detroit in a game that I correctly predicted. The Rams just beat Las Vegas to keep their season from totally imploding, and an upset over the Vikings could be a big part of Los Angeles’ turnaround. The return of Cooper Kupp and the Rams’ 2-1 record at home this season will give them the edge. Ram it!

Baltimore -9.5 at Cleveland

The Ravens are a juggernaut and I cannot bet against them again until they slow down. Maybe it will be this week against Cleveland’s tough defense and some Jameis Winston magic. I will take my chances with that.

Tennessee at Detroit -10.5

Jared Goff just doesn’t throw incomplete passes anymore and the Titans have even less of a passing offense than before because they traded DeAndre Hopkins.

Arizona +3.5 at Miami

Tua Tagovailoa is coming back to rescue the Dolphins even though the Twitter doctors haven’t cleared him yet. I don’t know how that is legal. I will give Tua a week to shake the rust off and go with the frisky Cardinals.

NY Jets at New England +6.5

Another Jets line that makes no sense. The New England offense has been revived by Drake Maye and the Jets’ defense collapsed in Russell Wilson’s Pittsburgh debut. The Jets are desperate, but maybe not in a good way.

Atlanta at Tampa Bay -2.5

The Falcons’ momentum was suddenly stopped with a surprise ass kicking at the hands of the Seahawks. Tampa Bay also got beat down horribly, but at least that was against a dominant team. The Buccaneers will be looking for revenge after their thrilling overtime loss in Atlanta three weeks ago. That revenge should be served if the defense just shows up a little bit.

Chicago at Washington +0.5

Here is the dirty little secret that no one is talking about: Washington’s offense didn’t slow down much when Marcus Mariota was under center last Sunday. The Commies can win this with our without Jayden Daniels.

Green Bay -4.5 at Jacksonville

The Packers have won five of six with four of the five wins coming by more than four points. Plus, I just traded Jordan Love away in fantasy and he is guaranteed to go off. The Jaguars got a much-needed win last week, but that doesn’t mean they are back to fulfilling expectations.

Indianapolis +5.5 at Houston

Anthony Richardson has been very disappointing this season, but against Houston in Week 1 he had his best game of the season. Plus, Jonathan Taylor looks like he is ready to return to action. That should allow the Colts to pound the ball and keep it away from C.J. Stroud.

New Orleans +7.5 at LA Chargers

Why do I keep dooming my picks with the Saints? They have gone from unstoppable juggernaut to one of the worst teams in the league. I am picking them again because the number is way too high against the feeble Chargers offense.

Buffalo -2.5 at Seattle

The Seahawks got a nice road win last week, but their defense has been dreadful lately, even at home. Buffalo should be able to run up the score.

Philadelphia at Cincinnati -2.5

Are the Bengals back? Their three wins have come against the Panthers, Giants, and Browns. However, Philadelphia hasn’t beaten anyone decent since Week 1. I am making an anti-Philly pick that is amplified by my fantasy match against Jalen Hurts and A.J. Brown.

Carolina at Denver -7.5

The Panthers stink and Bryce Young is back under center. Plus, Diontae Johnson and Adam Thielen are missing the game due to injury. The line has risen to 10.5, so let’s take advantage.

Kansas City at Las Vegas +10.5

You’re welcome, Kansas City! I keep picking against the Chiefs, and they keep winning despite their wide receiver injuries. Can DeAndre Hopkins give them some relief? He might be washed up, but he’s also getting a huge quarterback upgrade. Remember that Antonio Pierce led Las Vegas to a shocking upset at Arrowhead last year.

Dallas at San Francisco -5.5

Wow, I really thought the Cowboys had their act together after that gritty win in Pittsburgh, but then they got embarrassed by Detroit in Jerry World. Imagine if Russ had been ready to cook just a little earlier? These Cowboys could be 2-4! The 49ers have also been disappointing, but I think they will take their frustration out on Dallas.

NY Giants +5.5 at Pittsburgh

The Steelers’ offense was rejuvenated with Russell Wilson under center and they impressively routed the Jets last week while the Giants were totally feeble against Philadelphia. The Giants should get crushed here, but that’s what I thought before the Seattle game, so I am sticking with Big Blue this time.

In my opinion, these 5 are all worthy of enshrinment. A. Clay Matthews was brute force as linebacker, cracking heads and taking no prisoners for 19 years, as integral member of a few Browns teams during the Schottenheimer Era. He was responsible for a mind numbing 1600 or so tackles and about 83 sacks, and in the process instilled fear and trepidation in countless jittery running backs and slick stepping receivers who dared to come across the middle. B. Joe Jacoby, the monster-sized boss hog, who was so large (six foot 7, 305) he seemed to cover about 1/2 of the o-line all by himself. Jacoby played his entire career for the Redskins, won 3 Super Bowls and made 2 All Pros. C. Sterling Sharpe was extremely sharp during a very productive 7 year career, in which he caught nearly 600 passes, and helped Brett Favre make history. 3 All pro teams, 65 TDs and lots of dazzling runs after catches. D. Chuck Foreman, who shaked and baked his way to glory … but no Super Bowl titles… in the 1970s. Chuck was synonomous with the great Viking teams of the 1970s and ran with an almost acrobatic, physical style that those who witnessed will sure remember. Nearly 6,000 years in 7 seasons, along with over 350 pass receptions… he was elusive and powerful, and a serious competitor. E. Jim “Wrong Way” Marshall is more famous for his big blunder — running the wrong way and into his own end zone after recovering a fumble — than anything else. But this was a guy who was tough, reliable and showed up for work for an incredible 270 consecutive games, a record that would stand until Brett Favre went for 297. He recovered 30 fumbles over a 20 year career, and ruined plays for countess QBs, as part of the devastating Purple People Eater pass rush, alongside Hall of Famer Alan Page and Karl Eller. It’s time to put Jim in!