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Blue Jays are one win away and 2025 Week 9 NFL picks

by Aaron | October 31, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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The World Series reached levels of epic not seen before in Los Angeles

by Aaron | October 29, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Referees don’t help Giants on very bad sports Sunday

by Aaron | October 26, 2025 | 0 Comments

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!

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.

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.

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Yoshinobu Yamamoto is an American hero and the Dodgers get out of Canada with a win

by Aaron | October 25, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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?

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.

 

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Let’s rally behind the Dodgers and defeat Canada

by Aaron | October 24, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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The NBA has a gambling problem and NFL picks for 2025 Week 8

by Aaron | October 23, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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The NBA is back and there’s a lot of pressure on the Knicks to win the East

by Aaron | October 22, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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Defense runs Monday Night Football and Blue Jays clinch AL pennant

by Aaron | October 21, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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We are in for a wild sports night with Game 7 of the ALCS and an NFL doubleheader

by Aaron | October 20, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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Penn State and the New York Giants made me very sad this weekend

by Aaron | October 19, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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Brandon’s Posts

ChabDog’s Takeaways from Week 18:

by | Jan 5, 2025

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.

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ChabDog/BSC’s State of Play on New Year’s Day–BCS

by | Jan 1, 2025

  • 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.
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Well Read’s Posts

NFL Week 4 Results

by | Oct 1, 2024

Had a great time Sunday at SoFi watching a lackluster game. Wonderful stadium and a great tailgate party.

In first place we have a tie of 10 wins each between ChabDog and Aaron. In second with 9 was Abe. Dorothy had 6 and I got crushed with only 4. At least it was a great tailgate.

Well Read

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Week 10: Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks (AST)

by | Nov 12, 2023

Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of me making shitty picks based on flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and very mistaken logic 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

Also, need to honorably mention that fading me statistically (51.75%) gives you a better chance of making any money from my NFL picks, hence, Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks.  So let’s try this again with the goal of trying to pick more right games than wrong ones in Week 10!

PANTHERS | BEARS -3.5: I lost this game by .5 point as the final score was 13-16 Bears.  I truly am a POS.

COLTS -1.5 | PATRIOTS: Two very terrible teams square off against each other with the Colts coming into this one with a better record, a better offense, and in Frankfurt.  So no team here truly has the home-field advantage as most Europeans are simply there to see an NFL game.  The only other advantage the Colts have here is a little confidence after beating the Panthers in Week 9 and the ability to score  25+ points against the SAINTS and the BROWNS even though they lost the games.  However, the PATRIOTS are neither the SAINTS nor the BROWNS, and why the COLTS are slightly favored in this one (and my pick).

49ERS | JAGUARS +3: The 49ERS look great offensively with their star QB, RB, and WR showing better offensive numbies than the JAGS, however, the 49ERS are coming into this one with a 3-game losing streak against teams with a worse record than the JAGS. On the flip side, I can’t even recall when the JAGS even lost a game as they’re currently 6-2 and playing at home in this one.  Lastly, the JAGS have beaten their last 5 opponents by more than 3 points and they’re coming off a BYE week.  Lock it in…JAGS.

SAINTS -2.5 | VIKINGS: The VIKINGS are in a funky place as both Justin Jefferson (WR) and Kirk Cousins (QB) are on the IR.  However, I like Joshua Dobbs AKA “Passtronaut”, and do hope he can put his rocket scientist mind to good use for the VIKINGS (rooting for the nerd).  However, we still have a lot of unknowns here and they’re coming against Derek Carr and the SAINTS with more offensive weapons and more playing time. Simply taking experience over uncertainty & beyond in this one.

TITANS | BUCS -1.5: Here we have another two teams with the same W-L record battling it out this week with the BUCS coming into this one as the hometown favorites.  Probably even more so now that Ryan Tannehill has been replaced with Will Levis for the remainder of the season who will be making his third start for the team with a 1-1 record. Hard to see a rookie QB beating out a more experienced one in Tampa Bay in this one, but glad the spread is tiny.

BROWNS | RAVENS -6: The RAVENS have easily won their last 4 games by more than 6 points, and it shouldn’t be a problem for them against a BROWNS team that has a rusty Deshaun Watson (QB) who still doesn’t feel 100% with his rotator cuff strain.  Little things that can make a big difference here against a RAVENS team that has been dominating their last 4 games and at home in this one.

TEXANS +6.5 | BENGALS: The TEXANS have done great in trying to keep games close or even winning them this season. C.J. Stroud (QB) has also been impressive going for 2270 yards for 14TD with only 1 interception. Again, very impressive with better numbies than Joe Burrow. The other thing that is in favor of the TEXANS is that the BENGALS star WR, Ja’Marr Chase, is still listed as questionable with back soreness.  Things that could affect the BENGALS offensive game even if he does play. Hard to see the BENGALS run away with this one. Lock in on the TEXANS with this fat spread.

PACKERS | STEELERS -3: The PACKERS and the STEELERS have not been amazing so far, but the STEELERS have been better in beating the Titans, the Rams, and the Ravens by more than 3 points in the last month.  Additionally, the STEELERS have had a few extra rest days than the PACKERS with a home-field advantage that is looking to beat the PACKERS by more than 3 points in this one.

FALCONS -1.5 | CARDINALS: QB Kyler Murray is returning after being out for 11 months for a torn ACL to his right knee.  Combine a rusty QB with RB James Conner also coming off the IR for things to swing in favor of the FALCONS with a low spread working for them in this one.

LIONS -2.5 | CHARGERS: The LIONS are coming off a bye week with a 6-2 record and a great offense.  The CHARGERS are coming off a two-game winning streak, but only putting it together to beat the Jets and the Bears.  Two teams that are not as strong as the LIONS. Well-rested LIONS to challenge the Chargers at home.

GIANTS | COWBOYS -16.5: You know the GIANTS are bad when taking the COWBOYS at -16.5 points.  However, when you factor in that the GIANTS have no QB, and the best they can do is Tommy DeVito in Dallas, ooooooooooooooooooooooooooffffff, this team is cooooooooked!!!

COMMANDERS +6.5 | SEAHAWKS: The SEAHAWKS are favored in this game by 6.5 points, yet the SEAHAWKS have not been able to beat a team by that much since playing the Cardinals in Week 7 and the COMMANDERS are no Cardinals.  Lastly, the SEAHAWKS just lost badly to the Ravens and could not even score more than 3 points in Week 9.  So technically, the SEAHWAKS couldn’t even score enough points in their last game to even make the spread in this one..let alone beat a team by this many points. Lock it in, COMMANDERS +6.5.

JETS | RAIDERS +1.5: The JETS got crucified last week with QB Zach Wilson getting sacked over and over again by the Chargers while the RAIDERS demolished the GIANTS 30-6. Yet, the RAIDERS are not favored in this one and at home. Yes, we can look at what the Raiders have done so far and say they havn’t been great, but they also changed coach and things appear to have gotten better for them since then.  So lets let Antonio Pierce cook and see what he has in store for the Jets in this one considering he’s 1-0 as the new Raiders coach.

BRONCOS +7.5 | BILLS: The BILLS are in a funky spot this season but mostly a dissapointment in the last 5 games.  Especially since they’ve not been able to beat any team by 7.5 since Week 4.  Including the dumpster fire Giants in Week 6.  The BRONCOS have also been garbage, but they’ve also managed to beat the KC Chiefs in Week 9 and the Packers in Week 8.  So we got the BRONCOS in an upswing and the BILLS in a downswing with the Broncos coming off a BYE Week.  All things that are screaming that the BRONCOS are not going to get beaten by 7.5 points in this one.

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 11/08/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on Week 10 below, or where posted

| | @darthvaber99

 

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Week 9: Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks (AST)

by | Nov 4, 2023

Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of me making shitty picks based on flawed science, numbies based solely on Taylor Swift’s game attendance, and mistaken logic 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

Also, need to honorably mention that fading me statistically (53.33%) gives you a way better chance of making any money from my NFL picks, hence, Abe’s Shitty NFL Picks.  So let’s try this again with the goal of trying to pick more right games than wrong ones in Week 9!

STEELERS -2.5

DOLPHINS +2.5

COMMANDERS +3.5

RAVENS -5.5

CARDINALS +8

BUCS +2.5

PACKERS -3

FALCONS -5.5

SAINTS -7.5

COLTS -2.5

RAIDERS -2.5

EAGLES -3

BENGALS -2.5

CHARGERS -3

*All odds courtesy of Bet MGM on 11/01/2023 

Let me know in the comments your thoughts on Week 9 below, or wherever you find this posted on social media

| | @darthvaber99

 

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Thunder Snap Back to Reality and Crush Pacers in Game 2 of NBA Finals

by | Jun 8, 2025

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.

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.

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Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final Featured Beautiful Goals and a Stunning Finish

by | Jun 7, 2025

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

 

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How do the Indiana Pacers Keep Doing This?

by | Jun 6, 2025

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.

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.

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Mets Create Good Vibes and Then Destroy Them in Los Angeles

by | Jun 5, 2025

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.

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Mets Tease Their Fans with a Good Time, but Let Them Down Late at Night in Los Angeles

by | Jun 4, 2025

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.

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