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Board up the back doors ala Borat, batten down the hatches, and get your @#$#$ together and wired tight. Crazy Week 8 is upon us, and it's going to be a real smasher. Not to fear, the "Good, Great, and ... Wow! CDST NFL Preview Show" is finally here. With the usual all-star rotation, plus a word or two from a couple of Brits you've been dying to meet, .... Archie Rice, from The Entertainer, and Beech Boy Andy the Dandy, who's all stoked up about his Lucky Cat. Yeah, there should be plenty of the usual blowouts....what with the Titans playing hospitable host with the most against the Chargers (no banana stretch pants pppplease), the Vikings getting the carbon monoxide treatment at Ford's Field, and the so terrible Aints at Sofi. But here's a few that may blow the tops offa your boiled eggs in the morning boys: San Fran fighting for its life in the vicinity of the Meadowlands, Denver slugging it out with Houston at NRG, the Steelers trying to look coordinated against the Colts and of course, it's yet another opportunity for the Bills to miss opportunity against the Thiefs (yes, it's in Buffalo, but we know who has the Mahomes field advantage). Tune in this Sunday at 9 am... chabdog.com 🎙️ New to streaming or looking to level up? Check out StreamYard and get $10 discount! 😍 https://streamyard.com/pal/d/5092204863160320
11/2/2025 | "Good, Great, and...WOW! CDST #NFL Preview Show"

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Dodgers have the dollars, but their heart paved the way for World Series victory

by Aaron | November 4, 2025 | 0 Comments

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.

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.

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.

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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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Thank you God, for letting me see this memorable manifestation of Steeler MNF magic….

by | Oct 29, 2024

Thank you God, for letting me see this memorable manifestation of Steeler MNF magic. We had a frenzied crowd, a 100+ plus grind out game from nails Najee, George Pickens picking those catches out of the air without a care (but get that other foot down next time, it will win you more points for style than you know), a calm, cool and reflective Russ, who spread the ball around and kept our minds at ease with the flicks he had up his sleeve, Calvin Austin III with two dazzling TDs, and of course the mostly smothering defense, led by our edge rusher wrecking balls. Give the Giants credit for hanging in there, but that ridiculous perversion of a two-point conversion try was just a hopeless harbinger of bad things to come.

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ChabDog’s Post-mortem for Bloody Sunday, October 27, 2024

by | Oct 27, 2024

It could have been the one of the greatest Sundays in recent memory — instead here’s how the carnage unfolded:
–Philly pounded the Bungles repeatedly and without mercy in the second half, after things had started rather favorably for Cincy. Hurts was on target and the tush push, not to mention the rest of the Eagle rushing attack, showed up. And I don’t know what happened to the revitalized Bungle d-line. No, there was no vitality. My bad.
— The irresponsible Ravens fiddled and diddled there way to a loss, one that they truly deserved. Famous Jameis is again famous, and they’re doing the crab leg walk in the dog pound. Again, my bad.
— The Lions did show up in a big way. Dorothy Dawn, your bad. Yes, they were more than interested. Pat myself on the freaking back for that ballsy call… lol
— My Cardinals (no… Gidget’s Cardinals) made me proud by defying the big crowd that came to the return of Tua. You go Fun-sized Kyler. My good.
— The Jets walked me down the primrose path, taking a pretty commanding lead on the Patsies, only to wilt a drooping venus fly trap in the face of a furious fourth quarter dead cat bounce by New England. My bad for thinking this game would go like the encounter earlier this year at Metlife.
— Atlanta, almost unexpectedly, held on for dear life, and covered in the always up close and personal meeting with the fagged out Bucs. The Bucs did give it 110%, but now find themself in the bowels of the AFC South, save the very bottom flour inhabited by Scarolina. My good.
— The Packers had the spread handled, or at least technically in hand, until they fells asleep in the 4th, woke up with the usual 3 point win. Ditto for the Texans-Cots. My double bad.
— The Bills oil spilled the Wee-hawks. Is that a defense I’m seeing that could actually stand up to KC. My good for relying on old reliable.
— Chargers manipulate the Aints into a very predictable 18 point loss, which must have been as exciting as standing in a bank line. My good for knowing Rattler would be rattled and Harbaugh would recover his pants, lost in Arizona last week.
— Carolina continues to look not very nice with Bryce, while it increasingly appears Bo knows football again.
— Chiefs did what they often do, dominate a game but do just enough to screw me when I give them my whole hearted support. Or maybe its the Raiders screwing with me?
— Commanders really rip my heart out with that amazing hail Jaden; nearly crashed my bike on my ride home when that result flashed on my phone. Thanks Bears, and my double bad… as I changed my initial pick thinking Daniels wouldn’t be playing.
— Boyz took their eyes off of the ball, lose a lead and then nearly win (and cover); but it was all for nothing, as the final margin for the Niners was 6, not 5.5. Let’s face it,…. post-op Dak just doesn’t want to run for it, and that really limits his team’s down-the-field potentials. My bad.

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My First Blog: The Beginnings – An Introduction to the Chabdog Racing Segment

by | Sep 4, 2023

Wow, I cannot believe that I’m actually blogging on chabdog.com about NASCAR, but even more amazing…I’m actually here freaking blogging for Chabdog Sports!  When I first started at Chabdog Sports back in February of 2021, we were strictly an audio-only podcast.  Oh how far we’ve come in just a few years that I’ve been on the show considering we’re now on YouTube, we’ve got an ETSY store, and now here blogging like my good friends over at Barstool Sports. Although I’ve been on the show for a few years, I don’t think that many people actually know how I got here, why I’m hosting a racing segment or my role behind the scenes.  I think it’s fair to assume that most people think I’m only here because my Gawdbrudder (coined by my Gawdfather Gary) is Frank Fleming, who was actually part of Chabdog Sports prior to joining Barstool Sports.  I can say this, yes, my Gawdbrudder is Frank, but I also didn’t get a call to make a guest appearance here until 2021, and only because Chabdog Sports had been following me for a few years and had been super strong supporters of my X (Twitter) content (which I appreciated mucho considering I had a very tiny following back then).  Even then, what was supposed to be a “guest spot” talking about my adventures with my Gawdbrudder quickly turned to talking about my favorite sports teams, and diving into various political issues. Interestingly enough, I was only slated for the first hour of the show and was asked to stay on for the second hour right before we cut to the break (who knows if I’d even be here right now if they had decided to send me on my way after the first hour).  Considering this was the first time I was ever on air, I’m glad I was able to hang with the boys long enough for an encore, but you be the judge and have provided the link to my very first show here:

▶ The “Better Get Smart” Show (spreaker.com)  

I can honestly say that I never really thought that coming on the show as a guest would lead me to host a racing segment or talk about NASCAR, but it turned out that Chabdog really liked NASCAR and was enthused to incorporate a racing segment into his show after talking to me.  So on April 11, 2021, the Chabdog Racing Segment was born shortly after being on the show for a little over a month (with our signature intro song that we still roll with today).  I’ve included a small clip of the very first time we rolled out the Chabdog Racing Segment:

 

Again, still funny that I landed a racing segment, considering most of my earliest shows were mainly discussing current political issues, my Mets fandom, how I became a cheesehead, Frank the Tank, and March Madness that was going on at the time. But at some point, in the first few shows I was on, my past about growing up with my step dad who was a professional go-kart racer (who watched a lot of NASCAR, Modified, Sprint, and Midget car racing on TV or at the track) came to light. And because of my stepdad, not only did I watch a lot of NASCAR myself, I also got to go with him and watch a lot of awesome short-track dirt races (some might argue that’s where real racecar racing is done)! Growing up in the NASCAR 90s, I always rooted for Jeff Gordon in his signature brightly-colored DuPont car (epic car).  Not going to lie here, but Jeff Gordon was also a good driver to root for during this time since he was the Winston Cup Champion in 1995, 1997 & 1998.  Still gets me, or maybe I can say, “I feel my age”, that I remember a time when Winston Cigarettes was a sponsor of something. Yet, what I still find hard to believe is that NASCAR, of ALL the things we talked about in my early days here at Chabdog Sports, is what really got Chabdog’s attention, but more importantly…excited to consider incorporating NASCAR into the show. So yeah, from never being on a radio talk show to hosting a racing segment in about a month’s time might actually rank up there as one of my greatest unexpected accomplishments in life, but also one that turned out to be really cool and fun. So thank you Chabdog for asking me to come onto the show, for asking me to stay on for the second hour, inviting me to the following week’s show…and the next…and the next. So I thought to myself that my first published blog here at Chabdog Sports be dedicated to my beginnings but also pay tribute to our racing segment that really sent me over the moon in making me a permanent fixture around here. So let’s end by saying that I’ve had a lot of firsts here at Chabdog Sports, from being invited to my first on-air show…to hosting a racing segment…to being on YouTube weekly…to now writing my first blog…so with that, let’s get ready to NASCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!

X | IG : @darthvaber99

 

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Terrence Shannon Jr. is back and so is Michigan State

by | Jan 24, 2024

Illinois fans got surprisingly good news last week when Terrence Shannon Jr. had his suspension overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Lawless. It turns out that Illinois suspending Shannon Jr. based on the rape and sexual battery charges against him violates his civil rights.

“Plaintiff’s participation in sports is vital to the development of his career as well as his current and future economic opportunities considering plaintiff’s intention to declare for the 2024 NBA Draft,” Lawless wrote in the order issued Friday. “Prior to his suspension, plaintiff was projected to be a lottery pick in the NBA. His participation in future games impact his prospects in the draft and his earning potential.”

Usually “innocent until proven guilty” only applies to the justice system and not to sports leagues (or in this case, schools) who suspend players in order to protect their precious family-friendly images. It was a pleasant surprise to see Shannon Jr. reinstated when we don’t know if he’s guilty of anything. The accusations against him are bad and disturbing, but there’s also very little evidence. I’m glad he gets to continue his final season of college basketball with the hope of impressing NBA scouts.

Illinois probably didn’t need Shannon Jr. to defeat Rutgers on Sunday, but he still scored 16 points with four assists in 28 minutes off the bench in his first game back. Rutgers got a great effort from Cliff Omoruyi, and he helped the Scarlet Knights claw to within four points at 55-51 with 10 minutes left, but the Illini pulled away and won 86-63. Guys like Marcus Domask and Quincy Guerrier were able to spread their wings a little with Shannon Jr. out of action, so you can make the argument that Illinois is better off now than they were before the suspension. Many people won’t be happy that a player allegedly sexually assaulting a woman resulted in increased team chemistry, but it is going to be tough to pick against Illinois going forward.

Another team with high preseason expectations that is round into form is Michigan State. The Spartans are on a three-game winning streak with the most recent victory coming on Sunday at Maryland. The Terps erased a 12-point halftime deficit with a 21-6 run that led to them taking a 53-50 lead on Jahmir Young’s three-point shot with 13 minutes to play. However, Sparty bounced back and escaped with the 61-59 win thanks to three big field goals by A.J. Hoggard in the final eight minutes as well as a clutch step-back three from Tyson Walker to put Michigan State up 61-57 in the final minute. Young appeared to answer with a step-back three of his own seconds later, but his foot was on the line. Maryland got one more chance to tie or win following a defensive stop, but Tre Holloman stripped Young of the ball to keep the Spartans in the win column.

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Penn State might be that team you don’t want to play in the Big Ten

by | Jan 19, 2024

I try to stay a little optimistic about this Penn State basketball team. Even after they killed their chances of sniffing the NCAA Tournament, they still pulled out comeback wins over Ohio State and Michigan. Chances of meaningful postseason basketball are zero, but chances of ruining someone else’s season have been pretty good. Still, I did not think that Penn State had a chance to upset Wisconsin on Tuesday night. Even after Penn State jumped out to a 12-2 lead and used pressure on defense to throw off the usually patient Badgers, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. It looked like it did drop when Wisconsin chipped away and chipped away and finally took the lead on a Max Klesmit three-point shot with five minutes to play. However, my Lions kept attacking the basket for layups and free throws while Qudus Wahab had a couple of huge blocks that led to a pair of rare stops.

When Penn State held on for the 87-83 win, it was time for the students to rush the court. And we got a surprisingly good court storming for a game that started at 9:00 p.m. on a weeknight after a snowstorm. This was a win that Mike Rhoades can build on, and when Kanye Clary and Ace Baldwin Jr. are both scoring as efficiently as they did against Wisconsin, Penn State is going to be tough to beat.

Purdue established dominance over Indiana

I thought that Indiana had a great chance to cover the 9.5 points because Purdue had been shaky outside of West Lafayette. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The Boilermakers absolutely crushed their rivals 87-66 to ensure that they would not be swept by Indiana for the second straight season. Zach Edey really wanted to win in Bloomington before his ridiculous college career is over, and he showed it with 33 points and 14 rebounds while making more free throws than Indiana attempted as a team.

Purdue held Kel’el Ware and Malik Reneau to 13 points combined, but they weren’t nearly as bad as Xavier Johnson. He has been a walking nightmare since coming back from a foot injury apart from a great game against Ohio State in which he scored 18 points to lead the Hoosiers to a much-needed win. In his other four games of 2024, Johnson has a total of four points and two flagrant fouls. Not a great ratio. In this one, Johnson went 0-for-5 from the field while scoring no points. May G-d have mercy on his soul.

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Iowa and Maryland make pushes to get on the NCAA Tournament bubble

by | Jan 16, 2024

The Big Ten never rests. Just when you think you can write a team like Maryland off because it can’t put the ball in the hoop, the Terps go on the road and beat Illinois for their first quality win of the season. That might be the best road win that any Big Ten team gets this season based on how Purdue and Wisconsin are playing at home. Maryland has had to rely on its defense because of how putrid its offense has been, but on Sunday in Champaign, Jahmir Young and Julian Reese played in tandem and looked like a dynamic duo as they set up each other for good looks at the hoop. Young missed all four of his three-point shots, but he finished 11-for-24 with 28 points and eight assists because of how great he was a driving to the bucket and using his teammates as screens. When the game came down to the wire, Reese bullied the Illini in the paint and picked up enough points to hold off Marcus Domask and company while forcing Coleman Hawkins to foul out. Maryland has a long way to go because of how bare its resume is, but now Kevin Willard’s team has a signature win and a formula to build around. Young and Reese scoring in the paint plus hounding defense that leads to transition points.

By the way, Domask was a dawg in this one with some tough shots down the stretch to keep Illinois in the game while the rest of his team was shooting 12-for-45 (26 percent). Justin Harmon has been a key player for Illinois with Terrence Shannon Jr. suspended, but he was a big let down in this one, going 0-for-7 from the field. It will be interesting to see if the Terps can keep the good times rolling at Northwestern on Wednesday while Illinois looks to rebound on Thursday at Michigan, where the Wolverines finally broke their losing streak.

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Wisconsin is the only undefeated basketball team in the Big Ten

by | Jan 12, 2024

The other day I wondered if Wisconsin could build on its two impressive home wins that it opened the January portion of Big Ten play with. If the Badgers could beat Ohio State on the road, it would prove they have what it takes to compete for the Big Ten title. Well, what do you know? Greg Gard’s team came through for me and made me look like I know ball. I would later find out on Thursday night that I don’t really know ball, but I’ll take my wins where I can get them. Wisconsin and Ohio State went back and forth throughout the evening, but the Badgers pulled ahead at the end thanks to the unlikely heroics of Max Klesmit! He erupted for 18 points, all in the second half, and he helped Wisconsin close the game on a 19-4 run.

This is what happens when you have a team as deep and talented as Wisconsin’s. Your top players don’t need to be at their best all the time if you’re going to win. Just look at Maryland. If Jahmir Young doesn’t score 30 points every night, the Terps are going to lose (unless Donta Scott goes nuts like he did to kill my Michigan spread bet). With the Badgers, they don’t need Chucky Hepburn or Tyler Wahl to carry the load all the time. It’s okay that Steven Crowl is banged up with a knee contusion. Someone like Klesmit or Connor Essegian can take over for a while and lift the team to victory. By the way, shout out to Jamison Battle of Ohio State, who continues to be the hottest shooter in the conference. He went 4-for-5 from deep for 18 points in a losing effort.

Penn State is back to frustrating me

If Penn State is not overcoming double-digit second half deficits in the Big Ten, it is giving up double-digit second half leads. That is what it seems like these days. Both of our conference wins featured big comebacks, while the Maryland loss was painful because of how many chances Penn State had to put the Terps away. Now we get to the Northwestern loss. It was a game that Penn State needed to have if I was going to entertain the notion of a winning conference campaign. With Purdue coming up, the Lions are likely to be below .500 the rest of the way because they blew a 10-point lead in the second half. The Wildcats went on a 19-2 run that was mostly due to two themes.

First, Penn State could not hit a three-point shot all night. The team shot 3-for-17 from beyond the arc with two of the makes coming from D’Marco Dunn, who still does not play enough. He played 23 minutes, while Zach Hicks went 0-for-6 from deep in his 25 minutes. Those guys don’t play the same position, but Penn State should just go small since its defense stinks anyway. That brings us to the second reason for Northwestern’s run. Penn State cannot get a stop without a turnover. The Lions did a good job forcing 18 of them in this game, but they couldn’t stop the Wildcats from hitting 61 percent of their field goals. Boo Buie got wherever he wanted on the court, and when he was cut off, he found Ty Berry for a three-point shot or Brooks Barnhizer for a layup. The one good thing Penn State did was rebound the ball with 21 on defense compared to just two on offense for Northwestern. But it didn’t matter much when so many Northwestern shots were going in the bucket.

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Purdue’s top competition and the Big Ten’s most electric player

by | Jan 10, 2024

The Big Ten is a grind and almost every team will have its ups and downs. Just look and what happened in the Big Ten over the weekend. Purdue got a big win over Illinois, one of its top competitors for the conference title. Based on how the Boilers responded to that loss at Northwestern in January, I thought it was fair to wonder if Matt Painter’s team would lose another game this season. That was stupid. Purdue got hammered by Nebraska on Tuesday, and just a couple of days earlier, the Huskers were humbled by Wisconsin. I should really start to take into account that even the best teams are vulnerable on the road and even the worst teams (not Nebraska, who is looking like an NCAA Tournament team; I’m talking about someone else…) can topple giants at home. The same was apparent in the other Tuesday game with Indiana fresh off a big win over Ohio State in Bloomington and Rutgers reeling from getting crushed by Iowa. So what happened? With the game in Piscataway, Rutgers easily handled Indiana. Here is what else we learned about the Big Ten since last Friday, besides the fact that home court is important.

Austin Williams will be an important factor for Rutgers going forward

Offense is a major issue for Rutgers. Steve Pikiell has relied on stifling defense to win games since arriving in New Jersey seven years ago, but this season getting stops is especially important because the Scarlet Knights are one of the worst shooting teams in the country. Even in the win over Indiana on Tuesday night, Rutgers only shot 32 percent from the field and 23 percent from three-point range. You can play elite defense and still lose by a dozen if you shoot the ball like that. It turned out that the Hoosiers were even more incompetent with 18 turnovers and an unbelievable performance from the free throw line that saw them go 4-for-15. That is so bad that a random fan from the stands could have easily done better.

Anyway, Williams is an experienced guard who played two seasons at Marist and two at Hartford before this year. He has played sparingly for Rutgers, but over the last two games, he has been featured more and has given the team a lift by shooting 11-for-17 with 24 points. He’s not a superstar by any means, but someone needs to score consistently for the Knights, and fans have to be sick of seeing Noah Fernandes disappear in every other game while Derek Simpson chucks up shots that go “clank.”

Wisconsin looks like Purdue’s top competitor with Connor Essegian back in the fold

I might as well talk about Wisconsin now since I just talked about how the Big Ten makes teams look so different depending on whether they are playing at home and on the road. Well, the Badgers have won four straight with all those coming in the Kohl Center. Plus, the last time they played on the road, they were spanked by Arizona 98-73 on December 9. Wisconsin also was crushed at Providence back in November. However, Wisconsin did win its one Big Ten road game at Michigan State, so maybe there is hope that this team can give Purdue a run for its money. It helps that the Badgers are 3-0 in the league after stomping Nebraska over the weekend.

https://twitter.com/MarkTitusShow/status/1743722961553559793

Another boost that Wisconsin gets is Connor Essegian, who was a big weapon last season when he scored 11.7 points per game as a freshman. This season, Essegian has barely played because of a back injury, but during the win over Nebraska, he finally looked like his old self with 12 points off the bench in just 12 minutes. The Badgers were doing fine with Essegian thanks to their usual efficient offense and stingy defense that doesn’t give away offensive rebounds. Plus, head coach Greg Gard brought back a ton of talent from a team that just missed the NCAA Tournament in 2023. With Essegian healthy again, Wisconsin can compete for the Big Ten Championship. Now please don’t lose to Ohio State tonight and make me look like an idiot.

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