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News Feed
- White was out of sight all night, as seen through the ruby red frames of Coach Snyder, whose options were quite limited given the Bulls’ superior size, strength, speed and agility. Celtics had better take notice.
- Nick “Temple of Doom” Batum drops more than a few big ones on the Heat.
Vroom vroom vroom, Joel Sebby Bach is back, and the Sixers think they still have a
chance. Go figure….
As discussed on tomorrow’s ChabDog Sports Talk Show…. The MLB All-Animal team (these guys were truly beasts at their respective positions):
Manager — Whitey Herzog — The White Rat
“Hippo” Vaughn — starting pitcher 178-137 ERA 2.49 (ERA Title, Pitching Triple Crown)
Harvey Haddix (The Kitten) — starting pitcher 136-113 ERA 3.63 (threw a no-hitter and lost)
Jim Kaat — starting pitcher 283-237 ERA 3.45 (Hall of Fame) (3x all star) 16 gold gloves
Old Hoss Radbourne — starting pitcher 310-194 (Hall of Fame) ERA Title 2.68 ERA
Goose Gossage — relief pitcher 124-107 301 saves (Hall of Fame) (9x all star)
Catcher — Yogi Berra (Hall of Fame) (3x MVP) (numerous world series titles and 18 all star appearances) (over 300 homers and over 2k hits)
Designated Hitter — Jimmy Foxx– aka The Beast (Hall of Fame, 3x MVP) (over 500 homers, lifetime avg of .325) Triple Crown
First Base — Lou Gehrig — aka The Iron Horse (Hall of Fame) (2 MVP) (.340 lifetime avg) 493 homers
Second Base — Nellie Fox — Hall of Fame, MVP (over 2600 hits, .288 avg) (3 gold gloves) 15x allstar
Shortstop — Rabbit Maranville – Hall of Fame (over 2600 hits, .258 avg) 291 stolen bases
Third Base — Bill “Mad Dog” Madlock — Four batting titles, over 2000 hits and lifetime .310 avg. (205 homers and lifetime avg of .305) 3x all star
Left Field — Ducky Medwick — Hall of Fame, MVP, Triple Crown winner, 10x all star
Right Field — Dave Parker — The Cobra — MVP, 7x allstar, 2 batting titles, 3 gold gloves, 2713 hits, .290 avg, 339 homers and nearly 1500 rbis, 2 world series titles
Center Field — Clyde Milan– Deerfoot — nearly 500 stolen bases, 2100 hits, .285 lifetime avg
Bench —
Johnny Mize (The Big Cat) — Hall of Fame, over 2000 hits, lifetime avg. 312, 349 homers, 10x allstar
Fred McGriff (Crime Dog) — Hall of Fame, 493 homers, lifetime avg. .284, nearly 2500 hits, 5x allstar
Ralph Garr (the Road Runner, Gator) — 1500 hits, .306 lifetime avg., 170 stolen bases
Dave Kingman (Kong) — 3x allstar, 442 homers
Omar Moreno — The Antelope — nearly 500 stolen bases
Ron Cey — Penguin — 6x all star, World Series MVP, 300 plus homers, over 1800 hits and over 1100 rbis
Walt Dropo — Moose — 1s allstar, Rookie of the Year, 152 homers
- DEVILS BURNED ON EASTER IN A FIERY, PLUS-SIZED WAY WHEN NC STATE BRINGS THE MOST TO THE POST WITH DANCING DJ…. OH YEAH!!!!
- Tennessee more or less kept it close, but its painful-to-watch offense never really got going, and when it came to Edey that freight train was anything but slowing. Boilers advance to the promised land in the desert, while it’s hard knocks for the Knoxvillers.
- In Tuscaloosa they’re wearing the Crimson letter “A” with tons of pride, after another awe-inspiring about face mid-way through the first half had the Tide erase a double-digit deficit en route to a first ever trip to the Final Four. Senior guard and peerless leader turned Crypto.com into his personal Sears showroom with 7 threes and a steely resolve that rebuffed the Tigers at every turn.
Tons of credit goes out to Freshman Stevenson, who dropped in a handful of long bombs himself, not to mention the points, boards and defense chipped in by Pringle, Nelson’s continued tenacity and enthusiasm and the very important contributions of Griffen and Estrada.
Clemson was tough as nails, and kudos to them for fighting the good fight, but when the dust cleared the Hall monitor fouled
out of school and the Chef was just out of recipes.
Can they stand up to the Huskies… you bet they can… because they’ve earned their stripes in battling through this adversity,
and have their big toe… Coach Oats watching their back and directing the attack. Go for it guys!!! - Enterprising Illini came to the regional final with some great expectations, but when the second half reared its ugly head they had no answers for larger than life CT and its Clingan empire
ChabDog’s Sweet 16 Summary (Day 1):
–I wasn’t dreaming of Jeannie tonight… I was dreaming of Major Nelson, and what a beautiful reality
show it was. The 3’s, the reverse lay ups, the blocks, and the free throws…. what a show from a guy
who really came of age tonight in a big way. And what a boost for Coach Oats and the entire Crimson Tide
program…. showing the Tar Heels what’s what in the biggest basketball win in school history.
ROLL TIDE, ROLL!
— The first half was relatively tame, with SD State clinging to U Conn’s coattails, but after halftime, there
was no more static cling, as Clingan, Caraban and the rest of the crew cruised.
— Arizona got most of the style points tonight, but when it came to substance,
that was all Clemson. The Tigers did all the little things better, and when the game was
on the line and the heat was on in the kitchen, who came through but the Hall Monitor and the Chef.
–The Illini were bricklayers from the line, but the ‘Clones couldn’t
throw it in the ocean from anywhere else. In a rather ugly encounter,
No. 3 survives No. 2, and now faces likely execution at the hands of No. 1.
We shall see, but this was sloppy all the way around.
Day 1 cliffnotes from the ChabDog Group ESPN Bracket Racket (now this is what I call adulterated bracketeering):
— Jenna goes 14 up 2 down, while ChabDog keeps pace with the same, but takes a bigger hit when Kentucky chokes against Oakland… say what?
— Meanwile IG JackCart looks pretty smart at 89%, followed by a slew of 70 percenters, including Well-read and Yolk (who persists in picking Perdone)
— Abe and Blixx take a day 1 dive at 45, along with someone not quite coming up smelling like a rose
— And it’s Dunker in the bunker, pulling up the rear with Queen Momsie and EFS Grand Slam….
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Week 18: Abe’s Scrumdidilyumptious NFL Picks (AST)
Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:
Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7 Week 15: 3 Week 16: 9 Week 17: 8
SATURDAY PICKS
STEELERS -3 | RAVENS
TEXANS -1 | COLTS
SUNDAE PICKS
BUCCANEERS -4.5 | PANTHERS
BROWNS | BENGALS -7
VIKINGS | LIONS -3.5
JETS | PATRIOTS -1.5
FALCONS | SAINTS -2.5
JAGUARS -3.5 | TITANS
SEAHAWKS -3.5 | CARDINALS
BEARS | PACKERS -2.5
CHIEFS +3.5 | CHARGERS
BRONCOS | RAIDERS -2.5
EAGLES -4.5 | GIANTS
RAMS | 49ERS +4
COWBOYS | COMMANDERS +12.5
BILLS -2.5 | DOLPHINS
*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 01/05/2024
Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials
| | @darthvaber99
Week 17: Abe’s Scrumdidilyumptious NFL Picks (AST)
Hello everyone and welcome to another Chabdog Sports Blog of me making scrumdidilyumptious NFL picks based on very flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and a spidey sense that may or may not be functioning well based on the amount and quality of tacos I ate today since my current record is:
Week 1: 6 Week 2: 8 Week 3: 6 Week 4: 8 Week 5: 6 Week 6: 11 Week 7: 4 Week 8: 7 Week 9: 10 Week 10: 9 Week 11: 4 Week 12: 9 Week 13: 7 Week 14: 7 Week 15: 3 Week 16: 9
THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL PICK
JETS | BROWNS -7.5
Getting the chalk on tonight’s game because I didn’t make a pick before kick-off. Need the Browns to keep the lead here @NewportBest_ https://t.co/HCw6Yd2Biy pic.twitter.com/oirjt4QMpZ
— Abe Miranda (@DarthVaber99) December 29, 2023
SATURDAY PICK
LIONS | COWBOYS -6
Getting the chalk tonight because I did so well against the Jets earlier this week. Cowboys are -6 & the Lions are keeping it close, however, I got faith in America’s team because @PotatoGobbler is a fan & he’ll make sure they turn on their jets here in the 4th 💪 https://t.co/eRmyVxtngX
— Abe Miranda (@DarthVaber99) December 31, 2023
SUNDAE PICKS
PATRIOTS +13 | BILLS
DOLPHINS | RAVENS -3.5
TITANS | TEXANS -4.5
RAIDERS | COLTS -3.5
PANTHERS +6.5 | JAGUARS
RAMS -4.5 | GIANTS
CARDINALS | EAGLES -10.5
49ERS | COMMANDER +13.5
FALCONS | BEARS -3
SAINTS | BUCCANEERS -2.5
BENGALS | CHIEFS -7
STEELERS | SEAHAWKS -4
CHARGERS | BRONCOS -3.5
PACKERS +2.5 | VIKINGS
*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 12/27/2023
Let me know in the comments your thoughts below, or where posted on the socials
| | @darthvaber99
Dorothy’s Posts
Aaron’s Posts
Purdue upset by Ohio State and Penn State loses Kanye Clary
I almost feel bad for Purdue fans even though they have a tremendous basketball team that will probably make the Final Four. No matter what the Boilers do in the regular season, there is nothing they can do to change their reputation as a team that collapses in the big moment. The only way to do that is to win in the NCAA Tournament. Whenever Purdue slips up this season, the doubters and haters (Indiana fans) come out of the woodwork to say “this is what will happen in March.”
I have said since November when Purdue won the Maui Invitational that this team reminds me of the 2019 Virginia team that bounced back and won the national championship after losing to a 16 seed the year before. Maybe Purdue will fulfill that prophecy, or maybe it will hilariously disappoint its rabid fans once again. On Sunday in Columbus, Matt Painter’s team gave us a preview of March or a blip on the radar, depending on your perspective. Despite shooting 20-for-20 from the free throw line and dominating the offensive glass like they always do, the Boilers lost 73-69 to an Ohio State team that was playing its first game since head coach Chris Holtmann was fired.
It didn’t help that Purdue turned the ball over 14 times, most notably when Zed Key poked the ball away from Zach Edey with less than a minute to play and the Boilers needing two points to tie the score. Purdue ended up fouling Jamison Battle, who helped put the game away at the charity stripe.
We're still thinking about Zed Key's impact in Ohio State's upset over then-No. 2 Purdue.
The F had a career-high 5️⃣ steals, to go along with nine points.@iamzedkey x @OhioStateHoops pic.twitter.com/XZBdxfJWt1
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 20, 2024
Just moments before, Purdue rallied to overcome a seven-point deficit and tied the game 65-65 on Lance Jones’ clutch three-point jumper, but Battle answered with a 15-foot jumper to ensure that Ohio State would not fall behind. The Buckeyes were boosted by Battle’s 19 points on 6-for-8 shooting as well as 26 points from a bench effort led by Key and Dale Bonner. Purdue, meanwhile, got its usual great effort from Edey (22 points, 7-for-11 shooting, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks) but only four points from the bench. I still have no clue how Ethan Morton gets more than 10 minutes a game on team as talented as Purdue.
Ohio State interim head coach Jake Diebler made a great impression and he’ll have a case to keep the job full time with a few more wins down the stretch. I will feel very smart for talking about the potential of Ohio State’s young core if the team can upset Minnesota or Michigan State on the road.
Indiana blew a chance to join the bubble
Speaking of upsets, only one other Big Ten underdog won outright over the weekend. That was Northwestern defeating Indiana, but we can probably have a long argument over whether or not the Wildcats should have been considered the underdog in Bloomington. While they have been way more successful than Indiana this year and are projected to make the NCAA Tournament, Northwestern hasn’t impressed on the road. That’s why I saw this game as a great opportunity for Indiana to get a quality win and get into the bubble conversation. I should have known that the Hoosiers would waste it since they have shown so little heart and fight this season.
Ohio State fires Chris Holtmann and Maryland wins a bubble battle
Wisconsin finally broke its four-game losing streak in very Wisconsin-like fashion on Tuesday night. It used solid defense and three-point shooting by Max Klesmit to close the first half on a 16-3 run that turned an 18-18 tie into a 34-21 advantage. Ohio State got within five points in the second half, but Chucky Hepburn answered with a three-point shot followed by a steal and a breakaway layup while the Buckeyes failed to score for seven straight minutes. When Bruce Thornton finally got his team back on the scoreboard with 1:36 to play, Hepburn responded with another triple to put the game away. Perhaps the most thrilling part of the game was Jamison Battle not scoring all game until he hit a three with 16 seconds left to cover the 9.5-point spread for Ohio State. Klesmit had a chance to expand the lead back to 10 points, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one and the Badgers settled for a 62-54 victory.
Chucky Hepburn creates so much offense with his defense. 💥@ChuckyHepburn x @BadgerMBB
💻: Peacock pic.twitter.com/Pdu8gNTINj
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 14, 2024
It wasn’t the most impressive win for Wisconsin since it came at home against Ohio State, but Greg Gard’s team will take what it can get after dropping games to Rutgers and Michigan on the road. The real excitement came on Wednesday when reports came out about Ohio State firing Chris Holtmann after six and a half seasons with the program. Holtmann made the NCAA Tournament four times (would have been five if not for the pandemic) in a row since taking over for Thad Matta in 2017. However, he never made the Sweet 16 and his highest seeded NCAA Tournament team was upset by Oral Roberts in the first round in 2021. 2023 was a disaster for Holtmann, as his team lost 14 of 15 games in the middle of conference play and finished 16-19 overall. It looked like everything would change this season, as Ohio State beat Alabama in November and improved to 12-2 when it defeated Rutgers on January 3. The Buckeyes have won just two games since, though, and athletic director Gene Smith has had enough of the losing.
I don’t blame Ohio State for expecting to make the NCAA Tournament every year. but I’m surprised Holtmann got fired when he has such a young and intriguing group of sophomores at the core of his team. Keeping a group of starters together for more than one season in today’s college basketball environment is rare, but I think Holtmann had something with Bruce Thornton, Roddy Gayle Jr., Felix Okpara, and Evan Mahaffey. They have not been winning much lately, but they are also playing in a league that’s full of fourth- and fifth-year players in the starting lineup. With the way they are all improving together as first-year starters, I wouldn’t be surprised if the group returned next season as juniors and finished in the top third of the Big Ten. With Holtmann gone, it’s more likely that the program will be reset under a new head coach who wants to bring in his own players.
Michigan State gets a big win and Bruce Thornton rescues Ohio State in double overtime
I thought Michigan State had a chance to be a home underdog against Illinois on Saturday afternoon. The Illini might be ranked 10th in the AP Poll, but Michigan State is not far behind in terms of talent and it was playing at home. I was ready to jump all over the Spartans if the line was close to zero. It’s hard to fool the books, though. Michigan State was favored by three and a half when I checked in on Saturday morning. I said “screw it” and took Sparty anyway. Tom Izzo’s team was rounding into form and needed this win for its NCAA Tournament resume.
Laying the points didn’t look like a great decision for much of the afternoon, especially when Marcus Domask knocked down a three-point shot to put Illinois ahead 72-64 with less than eight minutes to play. The Spartans owned the rest of the game, though. A.J. Hoggard stepped up with a three of his own in transition and then scored three the old fashioned way with a great head fake on Coleman Hawkins in the paint. The “and one” free throw tied the score at 72-72, but Michigan State wasn’t done. Malik Hall hit a big driving layup plus the foul to put Sparty ahead, and Tyson Walker stole the ball and put in a breakaway layup to help his team pull away and win 88-80. Great teams cover.
A.J. HOGGARD TIES IT UP AT 72 😤 pic.twitter.com/T1HYktWnb9
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) February 10, 2024
It was a rare performance by Michigan State that saw the Big Three of Walker, Hoggard, and Hall all play like a Big Three at the same time. Hoggard and Hall combined for 45 points with Hall going 7-for-9 from the field and Hoggard adding five assists. That meant that Walker didn’t have to break his back carrying the offense. The effort by Sparty was enough to overcome a 28-point, 7-rebound effort from Terrence Shannon Jr. Illinois might have been a little too perimeter-oriented in this one with half of its field goal attempts coming from three-point range. While the Illini shot 11-for-30 from beyond the arc, Michigan State got work done in the paint while going 5-for-8 from downtown. Efficiency!
The only other exciting game on Saturday came from a surprising place: Columbus, Ohio! Maryland had a chance to pick up an impressive road win against an Ohio State squad that is every bubble team’s dream. That’s because the Buckeyes are a lousy team that for some reason has a strong NET rating. Beating them will look good to the nerds on the NCAA Tournament selection committee even though it’s not that hard to do so. Even my Nittany Lions beat Ohio State (although we also lost to them on the road). Sounds like a great opportunity for the Terps, right! That is correct, but Maryland blew it anyway even though Ohio State only led for five minutes during the game that ended up going into double overtime.
Penn State might be a wagon and Wisconsin stumbles at Michigan
I’m still not entertaining any NCAA Tournament talk with regards to my Penn State Nittany Lions. Too much damage has been done to the resume from inexplicably losing a buy game to Bucknell to going winless in Disney World to dropping overtime games against Maryland and Georgia Tech. It’s going to take way more than a Big Ten record that is one or two games above .500, even though that would be an impressive accomplishment for Mike Rhoades in his first season as head coach.
That said, the three-game winning streak that Penn State is on has been an awesome ride, and it was a lot of fun to watch it continue as the Lions pulled away from Iowa during the final four minutes on Thursday night. Ace Baldwin Jr. took over the game with 13 points and a pair of huge steals during the stretch and Penn State outscored Iowa 18-8 to finish with an 89-79 victory. I don’t expect seniors like Baldwin to take massive leaps with their game, but Baldwin looks like a different player than he was at the start of the season. He’s in control of the offense and red hot from three-point range. What’s crazy is that Baldwin was 0-for-13 from beyond the arc from the win against Rider on December 29 to the blowout loss at Purdue on January 13. Since then, he’s gone 16-for-26 in six games. It makes a big difference when opponents have to respect a point guard’s three-point shot. Opportunities for other players have opened up, and Baldwin has no problem sharing the rock when he needs to.
Ace Baldwin dishing dimes out like he’s a bank teller pic.twitter.com/uoVEWV4dw2
— Barstool Penn State (@PSUBarstool) February 9, 2024
One of those players with more opportunities has been Qudus Wahab. He’s averaging 13 points per game over his last four games after a three-game stretch in which he scored exactly four points in each one. With Zach Hicks living on the perimeter and Nick Kern operating with the dribble drive, Wahab is the only Penn State big man who is a post threat, but he’s been an excellent one lately with 13 of his 16 field goals going in. Thanks to Baldwin finding some range and Wahab executing down low, the Lions have a pretty deep and versatile offense that will hopefully continue giving opponents problems down the stretch.
The defense is a different story, though. I was pleasantly surprised by Penn State’s rebounding against Iowa, but the Hawkeyes still shot 56 percent from the field with Ben Krikke going 10-for-18 on his way to 22 points. Iowa might have won if not for Payton Sandfort getting banged up and going 2-for-7 from deep. Iowa as a team only shot 27 percent from three-point range compared to 52 percent for Penn State, and it’s safe to say that was a difference maker. We saw from the Indiana game that defending big centers is an issue for Penn State that probably won’t be going away, but the Lions have shot the three so well lately that it hasn’t mattered. It also helps when you win the turnover battle as often as Penn State has this season.
Purdue asserts Big Ten dominance and Nebraska teases road competence
How is Purdue going to blow it this year? That question is getting tougher and tougher to figure out as the Boilermakers keep winning big games in the Big Ten. Their latest triumph came on Sunday with a 75-69 victory over second-place Wisconsin in Madison. Turns out it is really dumb to bet against the projected number one overall NCAA Tournament seed when it is getting points, even in a tough road environment. Purdue had its chances to wilt in this one, but Lance Jones came up big whenever the Badgers got close, and the Boilers were able to hold onto the lead for the entire second half. If Purdue makes the Final Four like it should, we’ll point to Jones as the key difference between this year’s team and last year’s team that flopped in the first round. Jones hit a huge three-point shot to double Purdue’s lead when Wisconsin got within 52-49 with 9:20 to play.
The Badgers got within two at the 4:50 mark when Tyler Wahl grabbed his own rebound and turned it into a layup. It looked like Wisconsin might stage a late rally when Zach Edey missed a free throw, but Mason Gillis picked up the rebound and kicked the ball out to Jones, who drove to the bucket for a layup that put Purdue up by multiple scores for the rest of the game. Wahl almost turned it into a one-score game with a minute to play, but after grabbing yet another offensive rebound (he had six in the game), he got trapped under the basket and his pass was intercepted by Jones, who put the game away with a breakaway layup.
Lance Jones is strong. 😤@LanceBUckets x @BoilerBall
📺: CBS pic.twitter.com/YXrH5RbjEK
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 4, 2024
Not only did Jones lead the Boilers with 20 points, but his defense was important to locking down the Wisconsin backcourt. AJ Storr shot just 4-for-15 from the field and Chucky Hepburn was 1-for-6. Wahl might have been more impressive than Jones with all those offensive rebounds to go with 20 points, five assists, three steals, and two blocks. This guy went straight at Edey for much of the afternoon and still shot 10-for-16 from the field. It’s too bad for the Badgers that none of their other players stepped up in a big way, while Jones had plenty of help from Edey (18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks) and Braden Smith (19 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals).
The win moves Purdue to one game above Wisconsin and Illinois in the loss column with eight games left on the Boilers’ Big Ten slate. They’re in great position to win a second straight regular season title, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them end February at 15-2 with a relatively light schedule ahead.
Nebraska comes oh so close to a big road win
Nebraska would already be a lock for the NCAA Tournament if only it could pull out one of these road games. Alas, the Huskers stand at 6-6 in the conference with six wins at home and six losses on the road. Champaign usually isn’t a great place to go for road wins, but Nebraska stormed back from a 10-point deficit in the final three and a half minutes to take the lead on a Rienk Mast hook shot with nine seconds left. Marcus Domask drew a foul on the other end for Illinois, and he split the foul shots to send the game to overtime.
This is a Ty Rodgers appreciation post. 🙌@Ty_rodgers20 x @IlliniMBB pic.twitter.com/6WBMjQcfIE
— Illinois on BTN (@IllinoisOnBTN) February 5, 2024
The extra period got off to a good start for the Illini, as Coleman Hawkins found Quincy Guerrier on the wing for a three-point shot that put them up 79-75 with 3:40 on the clock. Keisei Tominaga struck back with perhaps his most beautiful three-point jumper of the night, and there were a lot of them. The Japanese sharpshooter has been dormant lately with just 14 combined points in his last three games, but against Illinois he erupted for 31 points on 5-for-7 shooting from deep. Tominaga’s heroics led the Huskers having a 43 percent to 27 percent advantage in three-point shooting, but Illinois made up for it by winning the offensive rebounding battle 17-5. The biggest factor in that category was Ty Rodgers, who grabbed five offensive rebounds and 14 overall to go with eight points, three assists, and three steals. Rodgers is a weird guard-forward hybrid who is the only member of Illinois’ starting five who can’t shoot the three, but he’s also a great defensive player and classic glue guy who does what his team needs to achieve victory.