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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.
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Brandon’s Posts
On Thanksgiving Week MNF, the Ravens were vultures, not turkeys….
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.
Diary of a Mad Man — What we learned from Week 11:
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.
Well Read’s Posts
Picks by Well Read
Finally we can stop obsessing on societal issues and watch football! Bread and circuses my friends while America is engulfed in a five-alarm fire. Whatever is going to go down is going down whether we agree with it or not. But the circus is good.
Week One Picks
Deliberately took the chalk on KC and Philly and was rewarded with a 2 – 0 start. Chiefs look better than last year. Eagles are back but GB looked good.
Mike Tomlin is an exceptional coach but the Steelers QB’s suck! For that reason alone take the Falcons -2.5 even though Atlanta is all smoke and mirrors with a new coach and new offence.
7.5 is a lot to give the Bills against an enigmatic Cardinals team. It’s a trap. Take Cardinals +7.5
Tennessee just seems like a dirty, worn out team. Chicago as a 5.5 point favorite is dangerous. But Tennessee smells like garbage and Bears are attracted to garbage. Take Chicago -5.5
Patriots are odds on favorite to play in this season’s BlooperBowl. The donkey in the natti is healthy so take the Bengals -7.5
Everybody loves Houston but the Colts are a division rival and are good at rocking illusions fans have. Take the Colts +1.5
I wish I could say something good about Jacksonville. Take Miami -3.5
Until we see this season’s Carolina and New Orleans play a regulation game and comment regarding their respective abilities would not be factual. Therefore, take the Saints -4.5 as they are the home favorite
Minnesota is weak but the Giants are weaker still. Take Minnesota -0.5
The Raiders should be ashamed of themselves. Garnder Mincschew? That’s all you got? Take the Chargers -2.5
Not a lot of delta for the Denver vs. Seattle game either other than Seattle still has a top ranked D and Bronco’s are starting a rookie. Take Seahawks -4.5
Unless and until Deshaun Watson plays like a champion the Browns are going no where. Take Dallas -1.5
Washington is a smouldering dumpster fire and I don’t mean the Capitol. Take Tampa -4.5
Lions are just a better team than the Rams. Take Lions -3.5
The Jets are a paper tiger. Great individual player talent. Poor team skills. Take San Fran -6.5
NFL Week One – Join us! Beat ChabDog! Get your picks in before kickoff or get the chalk!
Abe’s Posts
NASCAR Preview: YellaWood 500 @ Talladega Superspeedway
Hello Chabdog Racing Fans! Once again we find ourselves at Talladega Superspeedway this season with the biggest difference being that we are in the playoffs! Below you’ll find a track map to get a sense of how big this place is! I mean this place is HUUUUUUUGE, it even has a tram to shuttle you around this place!
Source: TSS-23-471382-Facility-Map_v4_CROP-FINAL.pdf (talladegasuperspeedway.com)
Qualifying is done for this race, and I’ve posted the Top 10 drivers below for today’s race below:
Source: Talladega Superspeedway Race Results, Lineup | Official Site Of NASCAR
However, we’re not done yet folks as we’re also in NASCAR playoff season! Fortunately, those, “on the bubble” (9, 10, 11 & 12), still have a chance in this race and next week’s race in Charlotte to try to come out on top as the Round of 8 will commence in Las Vegas on October 15th. Currently, William Byron has clinched his spot in Las Vegas as he just won the previous race @ Texas Motor Speedway. So technically we are now fighting for 7 remaining spots among 11 drivers. So let’s see how we currently stand below:
Source: 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs | Official Site Of NASCAR
Every week the Chabdog Sports Team makes on-air picks on the show for the upcoming NASCAR race and earns points based on the following criteria:
: Anyone who picks the winning driver gets 3 points.
: Anyone who picks the 2nd place driver gets 2 points.
: Anyone who picks the 3rd place driver gets 1 point.
Lastly, if no one picks a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place driver then 1 point is awarded to the picked driver that is closest to the podium. Therefore, in our fantasy game, someone from the team always walks away with a point.
This week’s “chalk pick” is Aric Almirola.
Last week’s race results:
AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 @ Texas Motor Speedway Results
Source: Texas Motor Speedway Race Results, Lineup | Official Site Of NASCAR
My pick: Kyle Larson for the mere fact that he’s qualified 4th for today’s race and is also sitting in the 8th spot of the playoffs. A win here would clinch a spot for him until the Round of 8 and he needs that since he could get bumped out of his spot based on his performance here and in Charlotte.
Lastly, sound off who you think our podium winner is for today’s race in the comments below!
With that, let’s get ready to NAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASCAR!
| | @darthvaber99
Abe’s Week 4 Shitty NFL Picks (AST)
Hey everyone and welcome to another episode of me making shitty picks based on flawed science, numbies, and logic since my current record is:
Week 1: 6
Week 2: 8
Week 3: 6
Also, need to honorably mention that you’ll have a whopping 42.55% chance that you’ll make any money off my NFL picks so, “Yes, I’m truly the Oakland A’s of making NFL picks this season”! But then again, you can fade me for a 57.45% chance of making money from my picks (not bad). So let’s try this again with the goal of getting into the double digits with my Week 4 picks.
PACKERS +1.5*: “Love” how the Packers are going into this game at home as undergogs considering Aaron Jones might still come in and play as he’s listed as “questionable” right now. The battle of the 2-1 teams will make for a great competitive Thursday Night Football game with the Packers edging out the Lions at Lambeau Field.
JAGUARS -3*: Excited to see this game in Toy Story mode on Disney + as this game will be played at Wembley Stadium in London with no team actually being at “home”…and, with only diehard Flacons and Jags fans making up the minority of European NFL fans who may have no particular loyalty to either team but are there to drink, cause hell, and watch LIVE American “futbol”. Both teams will be traveling far with jet lag sucking for both of them. On paper, I think an argument can be made for either team since the Jags have better offensive yards than the Falcons, and the Falcons have given up less defensively than the Jags. Ultimately, I think Trevor Lawrence is the better and more experienced QB who is hunting for a win after losing to the Texans as a 9.5-point favorite last week. Fortunately for us, the spread is only 3.
BILLS -2.5*: I know a lot of folks are leaning on the Dolphins to bulldoze every team in the NFL by 50 points, but I am going with the Bills at home even though the Dolphins are an offensive powerhouse. However, let’s keep in mind that the Bills are also an offensive powerhouse, with a better defense than Miami. One thing to keep in mind is that Miami has a lot of inflated offensive numbies right now because the Broncos sucked super ass and got blown out of the water by 50 points. I don’t expect a repeat here in Buffalo.
VIKINGS -3.5*: The battle of the 0-3 teams begins. I can tell you that I’ve picked the Vikings and have lost my ass to them in the last 3 weeks, however, the Vikings come into this game as the clear winner of the offensive game with fantastic numbies coming from Kirk Cousins (QB) and Justin Jefferson (WR). Yes, I’ve been talking like this about the Vikings since Week 1, but we’re also talking about the 0-3 Carolina Panthers. Not going to lie, but if I come out a loser on this pick I’ll pretty much hate the Vikings for the rest of the season.
BRONCOS -3.5* “SHIT GAME OF THE WEEK”: Welcome Ladies & Gentleman to the “Shit Game of The Week”. Two shitty teams battling it out in Chicago where the loser will be crowned a real, real shitty team. Favoring the Broncos on their offensive advantage and Sean Payton needing to redeem himself after losing to the Dolphins by 50 points.
BROWNS -2.5*: Counting on Deshaun Watson (QB) and Kareem Hunt (RB) to play and provide the offense to beat the Ravens. Also, we need to acknowledge that the Browns have great defensive numbies and I expect them to put the brakes on Lamar Jackson (QB).
STEELERS -3*: Yes, Houston has better offensive and defensive numbers right now, but they’ve also only won one fluke game against a Jaguars team that was a 9.5-point favorite. Steelers on the other hand beat the Raiders in Vegas, and the Browns with a powerful defense. This game might bring the Texans back to reality with a loss here at home.
RAMS +1*: The Colts QB situation will be a real factor in this game. If Anthony Richardson does come back to play against the Rams, then +1 will look like a steal since he hasn’t played in a few weeks. Offensively and defensively the Rams hold the advantage. Although they’ve lost the last two games, it’s also worth mentioning it was against the Bengals and 49rs. Rams need to get back in the W column and I think they’ll resurrect their mojo from Game 1 to get it done here.
BUCS +3.5*: As of right now, Derek Carr (QB) is still questionable for this game, and I expect that without the Saint’s star QB, for the Saints to go into suck-ass mode. Regardless, I can’t see D. Carr at 100%, even if he does play. My money is on the Bucs +3.5.
Eagles -8.5*: The 3-0 Eagles are hot with the Commanders proving that they can lose by 34 points. I feel like 8.5 points is chump change for the Eagles with this team easily going 4-0 at home.
Bengals -2.5*: On paper, both teams look equal with 1 tight game Win a piece. Ultimately, the Bengals are a slightly better team, and that is why they’re favored to win by a low margin. Gotta pick a side, and am banking on the Bengals’ coming off a win to edge them out over the Titans by more than 2.5 points. Ra
Chargers -5.5*: Without Jimmy Garoppolo (QB), the Raiders are pretty much walking into an electrocution in LA. If Garoppolo does play, then it may be possible to see the Raiders come within the point spread since they haven’t lost by more than 5 points if you omit their Buffalo Bills game
Cowboys -7*: The Patriots and the Cowboys have both faced the Jets in the first few weeks of the season with the Cowboys going 30-10 and the Pats going 15-10. On paper, both teams look equal, so no one here is the clear winner. However, the Cowboys have proven to be strong offensively, and I expect them to play hard at home after losing to the Arizona Cardinals 28-16.
Cardinals +14*: We all know the 3-0 49ers are good. We also know that it’s very likely the 49ers will go 4-0 after playing the Cardinals at home. However, the same could be said about the Cowboys who also lost to the Cardinals as a heavy favorite meaning that the Cardinals could keep this game tighter than what the bookmakers in Vegas are calling for. Another factor in this game is that Deebo Samuel (WR) is currently listed as questionable which favors the Cardinals tremendously if he does not play or is not running at 100%.
Chiefs -9.5*: The Chiefs are feeling good after beating the Bears by 31 points, while the Jets continue to struggle under Zach Wilson. Taylor Swift is expected to be at the game to motivate Travis Kelce to get TD after TD with the media going bananas every time Travis touches the ball while robbing Jackson and Brittany Mahomes from the spotlight (oh no..what shall we do?).
Seahawks +1.5*: What a gift to have the Seahawks come into this game as 1.5-point underdogs. Right off the bat, the Giants star RB Saquan Barkley is listed as questionable, and the Giants cannot afford to lose anybody right now. I mean, this team is already bad with a full squad, so losing your RB or not being able to play him at 100% is just bad. Ultimately, this will be a great Monday Night Football game if you’re a Seahawks fan so go out and get yourself some beer, pizza, and chicken wings, and go watch the Giants lose in New Jersey.
*Odds courtesy of MGM Sportsbook (09/27/2023)
| | @darthvaber99
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Aaron’s Posts
Gerrit Cole Fails to Cover First Base on a Play that Changed History
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.
Aaron Week 9 NFL Picks
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.
Yankees Try to Continue Comeback While Knicks Must Beat Heat
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.
Aaron’s Week 8 NFL Picks
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.
Aaron’s Week 7 NFL Picks
It is Week 7 already and I am stuck in a midseason rut. I have been under .500 for two straight weeks, and now all I want to do is pick chalk. It is probably because favorites did so well in Week 6. Let’s see if the trend continues!
Denver at New Orleans -1.5
This one is already dead. It’s probably because Denver was favored at kickoff. I just have to come to terms with the Broncos being a decent team. The Saints have now lost five straight since their scintillating start and Spencer Rattler is probably a career backup.
New England +4.5 vs. Jacksonville
Back to London for the Jaguars, who were crushed by the Bears over there last Sunday. Should Jacksonville be favored by more than a field goal against anybody? Maybe the Patriots, because they haven’t covered since their narrow defeat vs. Seattle in Week 2. Still, I am going with New England and its new rookie quarterback.
Seattle at Atlanta -2.5
The Seahawks have been dreadful defensively while losing three in a row. The Falcons are on a roll with three straight wins over NFC South rivals. I am picking Atlanta and hoping that gambling really is this easy.
Tennessee at Buffalo -8.5
Will Levis threw for 95 yards in Tennessee’s loss to Indianapolis last week. That is not going to be enough to keep up with Buffalo and new addition Amari Cooper!