CNOTES 2025-2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE + NEWS, NOTES BEST BETS !

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SUPER BOWL

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Super Bowl

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Trend Report
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Seattle VS New England
Seattle is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games.
Seattle is 9-0 SU in its last 9 games.
Seattle is 8-3-1 ATS in its last 12 games against New England.
Seattle is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games against New England.
New England is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 6 of New England's last 8 games.
New England is 6-0 SU in its last 6 games.
The total has gone OVER in 7 of New England's last 7 games against Seattle.


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[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Highest paid players in the NBA this year:
$59,606,817— Steph Curry
$55,224,526— Joel Embiid
$55,224,526— Nikola Jokic
$54,708,609— Kevin Durant
$54,126,450— Jayson Tatum
$54,126,450— Giannis Antetokounmpo
$54,126,450— Anthony Davis

Quote of the Day
“We’re both geeked for the future and the possibilities…….not relying too heavily on Justin’s (Herbert) ability to do above and beyond, I think, is critical to maximize those types of opportunities. That’ll be one of the first things that we’ll try to do, is take a little off his plate so that he is free to do that when his greatness is required.”
Chargers OC Mike McDaniel

Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the baseball players who have hit 400+ home runs, who stole the most bases?

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has coached in seven Final Fours, winning two titles.

Monday’s quiz
Broncos coach Sean Payton was a replacement player during the 1987 NFL season, when teams played three games with replacement players during a labor impasse. Payton played three games for the Bears.

************************************************

Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

— I‘m still trying to process this one; Bill Belichick didn’t get voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in his first year of eligibility. Wow.

Belichick was 333-178 as an NFL head coach, won six Super Bowls, was an assistant coach with the Giants when they won two other Super Bowls. I figured this was a foregone conclusion, but off-field issues, like spying on opponents’ practices and filming opponents’ signals on the sidelines, are said to have been used against him in the voting.

Tom Brady gets into the Hall of Fame in 2028; will they make Belichick wait until then?
(By the way, I would’ve voted for him, as long as he let Ernie Adams introduce him in Canton).

— Buffalo Bills named offensive coordinator Joe Brady their new head coach; Brady has been with the Bills for four years, was OC the last two. Brady was an assistant coach at LSU when Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase were playing there.
Seven of nine candidates interviewed by Buffalo have a primarily offensive background.

— Denver Broncos fired their offensive coordinator and two other assistants Tuesday, two days after they lost the AFC title game 10-7 to New England.
Let’s be real; Sean Payton is the head coach/offensive coordinator; Joe Lombardi worked for Payton for 15 years, and he gets fired? Oh by the way, Denver’s QB broke his ankle and didn’t play last week. Thats no one’s fault, just bad luck.

— Other coaching news:
LA Chargers named former Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel their new OC.
Detroit Lions hired former Giants assistant Mike Kafka as an offensive assistant.
Tennessee Titans hired former Giants head coach Brian Daboll as offensive coordinator.

— Former QB Matt Ryan calls the shots now for the Falcons; interesting that he hired a new coach (Kevin Stefanski) before he hired a new general manager.

— In baseball, San Francisco Giants signed OF Harrison Bader for two years, $20.5M; Bader hit .277 last year, with a .796 OPS for two teams. He is a very good defensive outfielder.

— Astros Jose Altuve/Carlos Correa are bypassing the World Baseball Classic, supposedly because they couldn’t get insurance on their contracts for the tournament.
Correa will make $31M this year, Altuve $33M. Three years ago, Altuve broke his thumb in the WBC, when he was hit by a pitch. He played in only 90 games that year.

— Famous birthdays, January 28th:
Alan Alda, 90
Larvell Blanks, 76
Harley Jane Kozak, 69
Michael Cage, 64
Tom Hodson, 59
Jermaine Dye, 52
Mark Madsen, 50
Daunte Culpepper, 49
Andre Iguodala, 42
Hunter Renfroe, 34
Ke’Bryan Hayes, 29
Payton Pritchard, 28

— Michigan 75, Nebraska 72
Michigan was 19-23 on foul line, Nebraska 3-4
Nebraska led by 7 with 8:10 left in the game.
Cornhuskers were missing two starters, still led most of the night.
First loss of season for Nebraska, after a 20-0 start.

— Arkansas 83, Oklahoma 79
Oklahoma led by 13 with 6:43 left in first half.
Hogs shot 71.7% inside arc, 2-17 outside arc.
Arkansas won seven of its last nine games.
Oklahoma has lost seven in a row, after an 11-3 start.

— Saint Louis 79, George Washington 76
GW led by 15 late in the first half.
Billikens won their last 14 games, are 8-0 in A-14.
Saint Louis won despite going 11-22 on foul line.

— Ill-Chicago 76, Indiana State 74
Ill-Chicago scored on steal/layup with 0:01.8 left for the win.
Indiana State led by a hoop with 0:16 left in game.
Flames have won seven in a row, after a 5-10 start.
Ill-Chicago was +10 in turnovers (21-11).

— Indiana 72, Purdue 67
Coach DeVries wins his first game against the Hoosiers’ in-state rival.
Indiana shot 12-33 on the arc, 11-17 inside arc.
Purdue lost its last three games, after a 17-1 start.

— Miami OH 86, UMass 84
Miami is 21-0, one of two unbeatens (Arizona) in country
UMass led this game by 10, late in first half.
RedHawks were 28-38 on foul line, UMass 13-17
Miami is 21-0; here are their last three games:
W105-102 OT vs Buffalo
W 107-101 OT @ Kent State
W 86-84 vs UMass………I don’t think they’d get an at-large bid to NCAA’s; their non-league strength of schedule is #363, 3rd-easiest in country.

— Virginia 100, Notre Dame 97, 2OT
Notre Dame led 39-20 in first half, by 6 with 2:13 left in regulation.
6-9 frosh DeRidder scored 32 points, had 8 rebounds.
Virginia has won 12 of its last 14 games.

 

[Cnotes53]

Thursday’s 6-pack
Over/under win totals for 2026 baseball:
103.5— Dodgers
92.5— Bronx
90.5— Mets
89.5— Braves, Phillies, Mariners
88.5— Cubs, Blue Jays
87.5— Red Sox

Quote of the Day
“You can’t understate what he has meant to the franchise, what he did for them, the culture he established. It’s gonna be an absolutely enormous transition process.”
Steve Tasker, talking about Sean McDermott

Thursday’s quiz
Which famous baseball player was QB for the Tennessee Vols, just before Peyton Manning?

Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the baseball players who have hit 400+ home runs, Barry Bonds (514) stole the most bases.

Tuesday’s quiz
Rick Pitino has coached in seven Final Fours, winning two titles.

***************************************************

Thursday’s Den: Doing some thinking out loud……​

— Tennessee 86, Georgia 85 OT
Vols out-rebounded Georgia, 52-27
Tennessee has rebounded 44.7% of its missed shots, best in country.
Dawgs shot 66.7% inside the arc.

— Auburn 88, Texas 82
Longhorns led by 13 early, 42-34 at halftime.
Auburn shot 11-21 on arc, 29-39 on line, scored 1.38 ppp
Auburn won its last four games, scoring 78.3 ppg.

— Wisconsin 67, Minnesota 63
Gophers led this game by 20 late in first half.
Badgers shot 13-31 on the arc, only 6-17 inside the arc.
Minnesota has lost 6 in a row, 4 of them by 4 or less points, or in OT

— Iowa 73, USC 72
Hawkeyes led by 17 with 9:30 left in the game.
Kam Woods scored 33 for USC, 27 of them in the second half.
Iowa won its last three games, giving up 63.7 ppg.

— Belmont 78, Valparaiso 77
Belmont led by 10 late in first half.
Bruins have a 60.3 eFG%, best in the country.
Belmont has won 6 in a row; 4 of their last 5 wins were by 5 or fewer points.

— Drake 82, Evansville 78
Evansville led by 19 with 12:57 left in the game.
Drake was 28-38 on foul line, Purple Aces 7-12
Bulldogs won their last three games, scoring 86.3 ppg.

— Houston 79, TCU 70
Freshman G Flemings scored 27 points, had five assists.
Houston has won 12 of its last 13 games.
TCU is 2-5 in last seven games, after an 11-3 start.

— Famous birthdays, January 29:
Katherine Ross, 86
Tom Selleck, 81
Terry Kinney, 72
Oprah Winfrey, 72
Tony Galbreath, 72
Steve Sax, 66
Mike Aldrete, 65
Andre Reed, 62
Aeneas Williams, 58
Heather Graham, 56
Jose Abreu, 39
Quentin Lake, 27

— It has been freakin’ cold here in upstate New York; had over a foot of snow over the weekend, so I wasn’t amused where the TV folks at the Australian Open tennis tournament were whining about how hot it is there. 95 degrees is better than paying people to plow your driveway (or doing it yourself when they don’t show up). Summer is better than winter!!!

— Was reading something last week where Robert Kraft said that eventually, the NFL is going to an 18-game regular season, where each team gets two bye weeks, and also, every team will play a game overseas every year.
That would place the Super Bowl on Sunday, Presidents Day weekend.

— Cleveland Browns hired Todd Monken as their new coach; Monken had been the OC for the Ravens, so now John Harbaugh needs a new OC in his new job with the Giants.
Monken turns 60 next week; he is the Browns’ 11th head coach since 1999. Only the Raiders (13) have had more during that time.

— New Jersey Jets fired offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand after only one year; they’ve now fired eight assistant coaches this year, but head coach Aaron Glenn remains.

— Eli Manning didn’t make the Hall of Fame this year; here are the resumes of two QB’s, neither of whom is in the Hall of Fame.
Player A: 72-72 regular season, 8-2 playoffs, won 2 Super Bowls. 164 TD’s, 198 INT’s
Player B: 117-117 regular season, 8-4 playoffs, won 2 Super Bowls. 365 TD’s, 244 INT’s
Player A is Jim Plunkett, Player B is Eli Manning.

— QB Darian Mensah made $10M the last two years at Duke; he’s now bolted to Miami, where he’ll make even more $$$. Mensah threw for 3,973 yards and 34 TD’s for Duke last year- they finished 9-5, winning their first ACC title since 1962.

— Fans are so fickle; only one team wins the Super Bowl every year, that doesn’t mean all the other teams are failures. People need to stay off social media with the “We’re with you, win or tie” mentality.

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack
— Illinois 75, Washington 66- Illini have won ten games in a row.
— Montana 74, Portland State 70- Vikings’ first loss in eight Big Sky games.
— Liberty 81, MTSU 65- Flames are 18-3, 10-0 in Conference USA
— Iowa State 97, Colorado 67- Cyclones led this game, 30-4.
— Furman 78, Samford 73- Paladins shot 77.8% inside the arc.
— Cal-Northridge 84, Cal-Davis 78- Matadors shot 66.7% inside the arc.

Quote of the Day
“Atlanta is where I wanted to be. I wanted to be here. There was a pull to this job and a pull to this city, and it really started right at the top.”
Falcons coach Kevin Stefanski

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Knicks, who has scored the most points?

Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame baseball player Todd Helton was QB for the Tennessee Vols, just before Peyton Manning.

Wednesday’s quiz
Of all the baseball players who have hit 400+ home runs, Barry Bonds (514) stole the most bases.

***************************************************

Friday’s Den: College basketball trends…….​

— Some leagues playing fastest-paced games:
1- Big West
4- Big 12
5- SEC
6- MAC

Some leagues playing slowest-paced games:
28- MAAC
27- Big 18
26- Conference USA
24- Southern Conference

— Some leagues with best offenses (eFG%):
2- Summit
3- Horizon
4- Southern Conference
5- MAC

Some leagues with worst offenses (eFG%):
31- Ohio Valley
30- MAAC
27- American
26- Sun Belt

— Leagues making the most foul shots:
76.5%- Ivy
76.4%- Big Sky
75.3%- Big 18
74.8%- Horizon

Leagues making the least foul shots:
70.5%- Ohio Valley
70.7%- Missouri Valley
70.8%- Conference USA
71.8%- CAA

— Some leagues making best %age of 3-pointers:
36.1%- Big Sky
35.9%- Conference USA
35.7%- Southern Conference
35.5%- Summit

Some leagues making worst %age of 3-pointers:
32.5%- Ohio Valley
32.8%- SEC
33%- MAAC
33.2%- Missouri Valley

— Some leagues with highest %age of close games:
33.9%- MAC
27.9%- Horizon
27.1%- Sun Belt
25.4%- CAA

Leagues with lowest %age of close games:
10.3%- Mountain West
13.6%- WCC
13.8%- WAC
14%- Atlantic 14

— Leagues where home teams have won the most:
69.5%- West Coast
69%- WAC
66.7%- Big Sky
66.7%- MAAC

Leagues where road teams have won the most:
56.6%- Atlantic 14
52.6%- Ivy
50%- Horizon
47.5%- ACC

— Some leagues with the fewest turnovers:

14.6% of possessions- Southern Conference
14.8%- SEC
14.8%- Ivy League
15.3%- Big 18

Some leagues with the most turnovers:
19.3%- WAC
18%- OVC
17.9%- Mountain West
17.6%- Big West

— Famous birthdays, January 30th:
Phil Collins, 76
Nolan Cromwell, 71
Michael Thompson, 71
Jalen Rose, 53
Christian Bale, 52
Lance Kendricks, 38
Kodai Senga, 33
Bryan Woo, 26

Some random trends for teams against the spread:

(All stats for conference games only)

— Michigan is 6-1 SU/0-7 ATS last seven games

UConn is 7-0 SU/0-7 ATS last seven games.

— ACC
Boston College/Duke are both 5-1 ATS last six games.
Clemson is 7-1 SU/ATS
Wake Forest is 2-6 SU/1-7 ATS
Syracuse is 0-4 SU/ATS last four games.

— American
Rice is 6-1 ATS last seven games.
Tulsa is 5-0 SU/4-1 ATS last five games.
Wichita State is 4-1 SU/ATS last five games.
UAB is 1-5 ATS last six games.

— Atlantic 14
St Joe’s is 5-1 SU/6-0 ATS last six games.
Saint Louis is 8-0 SU/5-3 ATS
Davidson is 2-3 SU/1-4 ATS last five games.
Loyola Chi is 1-6 ATS last seven games.

— Big 18
Nebraska is 9-1 SU/8-2 ATS
Illinois/Washington both covered six of their last seven games.
Michigan State is 7-0 SU/5-2 ATS last seven games.
Rutgers is 6-2 ATS last eight games.
USC/UCLA are both 5-1 ATS last six games.
Maryland is 1-6 SU/ATS last seven games.
Minnesota is 0-6 SU/2-4 ATS last sis games.
Oregon is 0-7 SU/1-6 ATS last seven games.
Purdue is 0-7 ATS last seven games.

— Big X
Arizona is 8-0 SU/6-2 ATS
Iowa State/Kansas both won/covered last four games.
Texas Tech is 6-1 SU/5-2 ATS
Baylor is 1-7 SU/ATS
BYU is 3-2 SU/0-5 ATS last five games.
Kansas State is 1-7 SU/2-6 ATS

— Big East
DePaul is 4-6 SU/8-2 ATS
St John’s is 7-0 SU/5-2 ATS last seven games.
Xavier covered five of its last six games.
Creighton is 0-5 ATS last five games.

— SEC
Favorites are 7-1 ATS in Arkansas games.
Florida covered six of its last seven games.
Texas A&M is 5-1 SU/6-0 ATS last six games.
Mississippi State/Missouri are both 1-5 ATS last six games.

 

[Cnotes53]

Saturday’s 6-pack
Most experienced teams in country:
— Indiana (14-7)
— Liberty (18-3)
— West Virginia (14-7)
— Texas (12-9)
— Gonzaga (21-1)
— SMU (15-5)

Quote of the Day
“Nothing ends well, or else it wouldn’t end.”
Doug Coughlin, from the movie Cocktail

Saturday’s quiz
Who was coach of the Rams before Sean McVay?

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing has scored the most points.

Thursday’s quiz
Hall of Fame baseball player Todd Helton was QB for the Tennessee Vols, just before Peyton Manning.

****************************************

Saturday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….​

— Turns out that Buffalo Bills QB Josh Allen played his last four games with a broken bone in his right foot; he is expected to be healthy for Buffalo’s spring workouts. Allen threw for 3,668 yards and 25 TD’s this year.
Buffalo scored 12-35-27-30 points in splitting their last four games, with Allen playing hurt.

— NFL Films has always done a good job with the Hard Knocks series on HBO; an interesting show for next year would be a peak inside the Hall of Fame voting, which is controversial this year because Bill Belichick didn’t get voted in.

— Philadelphia Eagles named former NFL QB Sean Mannion their new OC; he played in the NFL as recently as 2021, was an assistant with Green Bay the last two years, after playing six years in the NFL, for the Rams/Vikings.

— Speaking of which, Vikings fired their GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Friday; he had been the GM in Minnesota for four years, when the Vikings went 43-27, 0-2 in playoff games.
Last year, Minnesota went 14-3 with Darnold at QB, lost in the first round of the playoffs, and they let him walk; this year, Darnold has led Seattle to the Super Bowl, which apparently didn’t sit well with the Vikings, so now they need a new GM.

— Atlanta Falcons hired Ian Cunningham as their new general manager; he spent the last four years working with the Bears, and for five years before that, he worked in the Eagles’ front office.

— Baltimore Ravens hired 29-year old Declan Doyle as their new offensive coordinator; he’s the same age as Lamar Jackson. Doyle worked for the Bears last year, after previous jobs with the Broncos and New Orleans.

— Next week’s Super Bowl has two QBs who haven’t played in a Super Bowl, and two head coaches who haven’t coached in a Super Bowl. Last time that happened was 12 years ago, when the Harbaugh brothers coached against each other, with Joe Flacco leading the Ravens to a 34-31 win over Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers.

— Famous birthdays, January 31st
Nolan Ryan, 79
Bob Apodaca, 76
Anthony LaPaglia, 67
Kelly Lynch, 67
Rod Higgins, 66
Minnie Driver, 56
Justin Timberlake, 45
Cole Irvin, 32
Donte DiVincenzo, 29
Zach Neto, 25
Missed a birthday yesterday; Michigan State hoop coach Tom Izzo turned 71.

— Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s signed SS Jacob Wilson to a 7-year, $70M contract extension, as the teams solidifies its nucleus two years before moving to Las Vegas.
Wilson hit .311 in 125 games for the A’s last year, with an OPS of .800.

— Minnesota Twins fired Derek Falvey, the team’s president of baseball and business operations (technically, they “mutually parted ways”). Falvey had been with the Twins since he was hired to run baseball operations in 2016.
Twins have a new primary owner now, so Falvey hits the bricks; under Falvey, Minnesota made the postseason four times, and in 2023, they won their first postseason series in 21 years with a Wild Card Series win against Toronto.

— Last four years for free agent IF Luis Arraez:
2022- hit .316 for the Twins, won a batting title
2023- hit .354 for the Marlins, won a batting title
2024- hit .314 for Marlins/Padres, won his 3rd straight batting title
2025- hit .292 with a .719 OPS for the Padres
Arraez is a 28-year old free agent; no one seems to want him. Why?
Colorado seemed like a logical landing spot, but the guy who was the Jonah Hill character in Moneyball runs the Rockies now, and Arraez doesn’t walk a lot, so that seems like a no-go.
Very curious to see where he winds up.

— Milwaukee Bucks are 3-13 this season without Giannis Antetokounmpo; he is also the only player on their team who was a first round draft pick. NBA trade deadline is Thursday; lot of people expect Milwaukee to trade him to a contender.

— At age 41, Lebron James is still the 14th highest-paid player in the NBA, making $52,627,153 this season.

— Michigan 83, Michigan State 71
Wolverines led by 18 late in first half.
State led 59-57 with 6:55 left in the game.
Yaxel Lendeborg scored 26 points, grabbed 12 rebounds for Michigan.

— VCU 89, Loyola Chi 75
Loyola led 24-9 early on.
VCU’s subs outscored Loyola’s bench, 51-15
Rams have won five in row, nine of last 11 games.

— Fairfield 71, Iona 70
Stags win in New Rochelle for first time since 2007.
Fairfield had 21 offensive boards, out-rebounded Gaels 42-31.
Braden Sparks shot 5-12 on arc, scored 27 points.

— Villanova 87, Providence 73
Villanova shot 13-29 on arc, scored 1.27 ppp.
Wildcats led 45-28 at halftime.
Providence has lost seven of its last eight games.

— Grand Canyon 86, Boise State 69
Antelopes shot 58.8% inside arc, scored 1.30 ppp.
Grand Canyon is 7-3 in its first year in Mountain West.
Loss snaps Boise State’s four-game winning streak.

 

[Cnotes53]

Sunday’s 6-pack
Teams with best continuity in the country:
— Harvard (12-9)
— VMI (6-17)
— Northern Iowa (14-9)
— Yale (16-4)
— Miami OH (22-0)
— Purdue (17-4)

Quote of the Day
“The only safe thing is to take a chance.”
Elaine May

Sunday’s quiz
Near the end of the movie The Wedding Singer, what well-known singer appears in the scene on an airplane?

Saturday’s quiz
Jeff Fisher was coach of the Rams before Sean McVay; John Fassel was interim coach for a few games at the end of the 2016 season, after Fisher got fired.

Friday’s quiz
In the history of the New York Knicks, Patrick Ewing has scored the most points.

******************************************

Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a college basketball Saturday……​

— Indiana 98, UCLA 97, 2OTs
Hoosiers led by 10 with 1:50 left in regulation.
Indiana shot 11-34 on the arc, 17-32 inside the arc.
6-10 senior Bailey scored 24 points in 28:00 off the bench.

— Kansas 90, BYU 82
Jayhawks shot 61.8% inside arc; they led 53-33 at halftime.
Freshman Peterson scored 18 points in 20:00, but didn’t play in last 16:00
Third loss in four games for BYU, after a 16-1 start.

— Kentucky 85, Arkansas 77
Kentucky has won six of its last seven games.
Wildcats got three technical fouls in a 0:39 span of 2nd half.
Arkansas led by 4 with 11:28 left in the game.

— Gonzaga 73, Saint Mary’s 65
Gaels led 38-34 at halftime.
Saint Mary’s had won 25 games in a row when they led at halftime.
Gonzaga has won 15 straight games; Graham Ike scored 30 points.

— Louisville 88, SMU 74
SMU led 19-7 early in the game.
Louisville outscored Mustangs 44-27 in second half.
Cardinals shot 75% inside arc.
Louisville was 16-23 on foul line, SMU 6-9

— Upsets of the Day:
Fordham (+11.5) 79, George Washington 65
California (+10.5) 86, Miami 85
Central Michigan (+8.5) 62, Bowling Green 59
Kentucky (+7.5) 85, Arkansas 77
Campbell (+7.5) 104, Wm & Mary 96
Western Kentucky (+7.5) 65, Middle Tennessee 60
Appalachian State (+7.5) 66, Troy 44
Southern Utah (+6.5) 79, Abilene Christian 76

— Central Florida 88, Texas Tech 80
UCF won its last three games, scoring 87.3 ppg.
Knights are shooting 38.2% on the arc (#18)
Tech lost despite scoring 76.9% inside the arc.

— Utah State 71, San Diego State 66
Aztecs led by 11 late in the first half.
Brickfest; teams combined to shoot 12-50 on the arc.
Both teams are now 9-2 in the Mountain West

— Xavier 68, DePaul 66
DePaul led by 16 with 10:01 left in the games.
Xavier was 16-19 on foul line, Blue Demons 0-1
Just third win in last nine games for the Musketeers.

— California 86, Miami 85
Miami led by 11 with 8:49 left in the game.
6-3 soph Pippen had 17 points, 8 assists.
Miami lost despite shooting 64.1% inside the arc.

— Famous birthdays, February 1st:
Dick Snyder, 82
Billy Mumy, 72
Mike Horan, 67
Wade Wilson, 67
Linus Roache, 62
Kent Mercker, 58
Brett Anderson, 38
Sean Manaea, 34
Jazz Chisholm, 28

— Miami OH 85, Northern Illinois 61
RedHawks are 22-0, 10-0 in the MAC, but against schedule #337.
NIU led this game by 5 with 15:00 left to play.
Miami shot 66.7% inside the arc.

— Arizona 87, Arizona State 74
Game was 38-38 at halftime.
Wildcats out-rebounded ASU, 47-32.
Arizona is 19-4 in its last 23 games against the Sun Devils.

— Illinois-Chicago 68, Southern Illinois 66
Salukis led by 18 early in the second half.
UIC out-rebounded Southern Illinois 44-24.
Flames have won eight games in a row, after a 5-10 start.

— George Mason 77, St Bonaventure 73
Bonnies led by 14 with 8:50 left in the game.
George Mason shot 74.3% inside the arc; they’re 20-2.
Patriots’ subs outscored St Bonaventure’s bench, 31-5

— College basketball ref Doug Sirmons has been busy the last week:
January 23- Ohio State @ Michigan
January 24- Maryland @ Michigan State
January 27- Purdue @ Indiana
January 28- Houston @ TCU
January 29- Colorado @ Iowa State
January 30- Dayton @ Saint Louis
January 31- BYU @ Kansas

 

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack
Teams with the worst continuity in the country:
— Western Illinois (4-19)
— West Virginia (14-8)
— Cal-Riverside (8-15)
— UAB (14-8)
— Sacramento State (8-13)
— Northern Illinois (7-14)

Thought of the Day
“Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Groundhog Day, what is Bill Murray’s character’s (Phil Connors) job?

Sunday’s quiz
Near the end of the movie The Wedding Singer, Billy Idol appears in the scene on an airplane.

Saturday’s quiz
Jeff Fisher was coach of the Rams before Sean McVay; John Fassel was interim coach for a few games at the end of the 2016 season, after Fisher got fired.

*************************************

Monday’s Den: Wrapping up a sports weekend…….​

— All the NFL’s head coaching vacancies have been filled; Arizona Cardinals hired Mike LaFleur as their new head coach- he had been offensive coordinator with the Rams. LaFleur’s brother Matt is the head coach in Green Bay- he hired ex-Cardinals coach Jonathan Gannon as the Packers’ new DC last week.

— This signals that after the Super Bowl, Las Vegas Raiders will hire Seattle OC as its new coach; Klint Kubiak is the son of former Broncos’ QB/coach Gary Kubiak. Raiders interviewed 15 guys for this job.

— San Francisco 49ers hired former Falcons coach Raheem Morris as their new DC; Morris was DC for the Rams when they won the Super Bowl four years ago, now he is an assistant for their arch-rival. Morris will be the 49ers’ fifth DC in five years, after Robert Saleh left to become the head coach in Tennessee.

— Buffalo Bills hired Jim Leonhard as their new DC; Leonhard had been working as an assistant in Denver. He coached for several years in college, after a 10-year playing career in the NFL.

— In the last 11 Super Bowls where the spread was more than four points, the underdog was 10-1 against the spread. Right now, Seattle is favored by 4.5 points next Sunday.

— I know very little about business, but apparently the NFL now owns 10% of ESPN; in return, ESPN gets NFL Network, NFL Fantasy and the rights to distribute the RedZone channel to cable and satellite operators. Viewers are not expected to notice changes on NFL Network until April.

— San Francisco Giants signed IF Luis Arraez for one year, $12M; he is expected to play second base for the Giants. Arraez won a batting title three of last four years, but last year, he slumped to .292, with a .719 OPS.

— Cincinnati Reds signed 3B/DH Eugenio Suarez for one year, $15M; he is expected to mostly DH for the Reds, a team he hit 49 home runs for in 2019. Suarez homered 49 times last year for Arizona/Seattle, hitting .228.

— Famous birthdays, February 2nd:
Wayne Fontes, 86
Dave Casper, 74
John Tudor, 72
Pat Tabler, 68
Sean Elliott, 58
Scott Erickson, 58
Shakira Ripoli, 49
Matthew Boyd, 35
Adrian Houser, 33
Josh Lowe, 28

— Former Maryland coach Mark Turgeon will be the new coach at Kansas City next year; Turgeon played/coached at Kansas- he led Maryland to five NCAA tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 run in 2016.
Last four years, Kangaroos are 22-37 in Summit League games

— Illinois 78, Nebraska 69
Nebraska led 39-33 at halftime.
Illini was 21-26 on foul line, Cornhuskers 4-5.
Second top 5 loss in row for Nebraska, after a 20-0 start.

— Florida 100, Alabama 77
Gators shot 56.9% inside arc, led 46-36 at halftime.
Alabama is 3-4 in its last seven games; they were out-rebounded, 44-33.
53.2% of Alabama’s shots this year have been 3-pointers; no team that won the national title has ever taken more than half their shots behind the arc.

— Tulsa 93, Wichita State 83
Tulsa shot 71.4% inside the arc.
Golden Hurricanes have won six in row, are 19-3, 7-2 in AAC play.
Tulsa is shooting 40.8% on the arc (#4 in country).

— Tulane 78, Memphis 76
Tulane snaps 5-game skid; they led by 15 midway thru first half
Memphis out-rebounded the Green Wave, 40-25.
Memphis is 10-11 this year, 5-4 in the AAC.

— Eastern Carolina 76, FAU 75
Florida Atlantic led by 12 midway thru first half.
Jordan Riley scored 35 points, had 9 rebounds, 5 assists.
Owls have lost three in row, after starting AAC play 6-1.

— Cleveland State 90, Milwaukee 88
Cleveland State led by 12 with 10:56 left, hung on for the win.
Vikings shot 70% inside the arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
Cleveland State has won four in row, after starting season 5-14.

— Colorado 87, TCU 61
Colorado shot 11-23 on arc, scored 1.32 ppp.
Win snapped Buffaloes’ six-game losing streak.
TCU has lost six of its last eight games.

 

[Cnotes53]

Tuesday’s 6-pack
Lowest over/under win totals for baseball this year:
51.5- Rockies
64.5- White Sox
65.5- Nationals
69.5- Angels
70.5- Cardinals
72.5- Marlins

Thought of the Day
“They continue to embody the standard of this franchise to compete for championships, consistently delivering a product that our fans and city can be proud of. Their collaboration embodies the ‘We Then Me’ ethos we seek in our players, coaches and staff, and we are thrilled they will be leading the Los Angeles Rams for years to come.”
Rams owner Stan Kroenke, on signing Sean McVay/Les Snead to contract extensions

Tuesday’s quiz
Since 2000, which NFL team has had the most head coaches?

Monday’s quiz
In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray’s character’s (Phil Connors) is a TV weatherman.

Sunday’s quiz
Near the end of the movie The Wedding Singer, Billy Idol appears in the scene on an airplane.

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Tuesday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….​

— Good news for me and all Rams fans; the team re-signed coach Sean McVay, GM Les Snead to multi-year contract extensions. Since 2017, the Rams have a 92-57 regular-season record, which is the fifth best in the NFL; under McVay, they’re 10-6 in playoff games, 1-1 in Super Bowls.

— St Louis Cardinals traded 2B Brendan Donovan to Seattle Monday, in a 3-way trade:
Mariners get 2B Brendan Donovan
Tampa Bay gets 3B Ben Williamson
Cardinals get:
P Jurrangelo Clijnte (throws lefty and righty)
OF’s Tai Peete, Colton Ledbetter
Competitive balance Round B pick

— Some insurance companies won’t insure ballplayers who are scheduled to play in next month’s World Baseball Classic, so they aren’t going to play.
As many as eight players eligible to play for Puerto Rico haven’t been approved for insurance, including Francisco Lindor, and Puerto Rico is hosting some of the early round games.
Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa also won’t be playing in the WBC. Shohei Ohtani will be a DH, but he won’t be pitching.

— If you have a pitcher from the San Francisco Giants on your fantasy team, are you queasy that the right side of the Giants infield is going to be Rafael Devers/Luis Arraez?
Very good hitters, shaky in the field.

— There are 28 days in February; this year was the first time since 2015 that February 1st was a Sunday, so on a regular calendar, the month fits perfectly into four rows.
This won’t happen again until 2037.

— Famous birthdays, February 3rd:
Fran Tarkenton, 86
Blythe Danner, 83
Bob Griese, 81
Bake McBride, 77
Morgan Fairchild, 76
Fred Lynn, 74
Maura Tierney, 61
Vlade Divac, 58
Skip Schumaker, 46
Tyler Huntley, 28

— International NFL games next fall:
3 games in London
One game in Australia
One game in Brazil
One game in Germany
One game in Spain

— Before this season, Seahawks were 50-1 to win the Super Bowl, Patriots 80-1.

— Florida State offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn retired from coaching Monday, ending his 35-year coaching career. Malzahn was 105-62 as a head coach at three schools. Florida State led the ACC in total offense this past season.

— In the NBA, 76ers star Paul George was suspended 25 games for taking ‘improper medication’ whatever that means. George misses out on $469,691.72 for each of the 25 games he will miss, a total loss of $11,742,293. Yikes.

— NBA players who have played for the most teams:
13- Ish Smith
12- Chucky Brown
Jim Jackson
Tony Massenburg
Joe Smith.

— Movie of the Day: Groundhog Day (1993)- A TV weatherman from Pittsburgh is sent to cover Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA for the fourth year in a row; he isn’t happy about it, and makes no effort to hide it. He and his two co-workers get stuck because in Punxsutawney because of a snowstorm.

This is where it gets strange; when the weatherman wakes up the next day, it is Groundhog Day again, and he lives the same day, over and over, for the rest of the movie.

I hadn’t seen this movie for probably 25 years; it is legitimately strange, but there are parts that are funny. Bill Murray is the weatherman, Andie McDowell/Chris Elliott are his co-workers.

— Since 2004, Gonzaga is 44-5 SU in the WCC Tournament.
Last four years, NC-Greensboro was 48-24 in Southern Conference games, which is really good, but SoCon is a one-bid league, and in those four years, UNCG is 0-4 in the SoCon tournament.
No bueno.

— Last weekend. there was a boxing card at Madison Square Garden; in one of the bouts, a guy got punched so hard that his hairpiece popped upward from the front, revealing a large bald spot that covered most of his head.
Why was he wearing a hairpiece?
What were the odds that this would happen, and the guy would still win his fight? (He did)

— RIP to Catherine O’Hara, 71, a terrific actress who passed away over the weekend; she was part of the great TV show Second City TV, was the mom in Home Alone, and won an Emmy for her role in the TV show Schitt’s Creek. RIP, ma’am

— OF Austin Hays signed on with the White Sox for one year, $6M; last year, Hays hit .266 with a .765 OPS in 103 games with Cincinnati.

— The tractor trailer loaded with baseball equipment took off for Red Sox spring training in Fort Myers Monday; pitchers and catchers report a week from today. On the truck……
20,400 baseballs
200 batting gloves
200 batting helmets
1,100 bats
20 cases of bubble gum
60 cases of sunflower seeds
Spring training can’t start soon enough.