CNOTES 2025 2026 NHL NEWS, BEST BETS, AND OPINION !
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Saturday’s 6-pack
Teams with the most players in the World Baseball Classic:
17- Mets
16- Mariners
15- Phillies
14- Red Sox
14- Royals
14- Brewers
14- Pirates
Quote of the Day
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao Tzu
Saturday’s quiz
Who is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards?
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
Thursday’s quiz
Chicago Bears are the only NFL team to run the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl back for a TD.
*********************************************
St John’s wins its ninth game in a row.
Loss snaps Huskies’ 18-game winning streak.
Red Storm was 22-31 on foul line, UConn 5-12
Game was 39-39 at halftime.
— RIP to the great QB Sonny Jurgensen, who passed away this week at age 91; he led the NFL in passing five times in an 18-year career, for the Eagles/Redskins. In his career, Jurgensen threw for 32,224 yards, playing in an era when teams didn’t throw that much. RIP, sir.
One of the first NFL games I remember was in 1966; I was six years old. Washington beat the Giants 72-41…..
Washington ran a punt back for a TD, scored two defensive TD’s
The two kickers were brothers; Pete/Charlie Gogolak.
Giants outgained Washington 389-341, but had six turnovers.
In a game with 113 points, both teams had 100+ penalty yards.
— There is only one QB in NFL history who is eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame who has won a Super Bowl, and also won an MVP award…….Joe Theismann.
— LA Rams are bringing in Kliff Kingsbury in to be an assistant coach next year, which should help their offense, which is already really good.
— World Baseball Classic will have 36 players who were major league All-Stars last year.
— 38-year old 1B Paul Goldschmidt signed up to go back to the Bronx this season; last year, he hit .274 with a .731 OPS in New York.
— Way back in 1976, Ted Turner bought the Atlanta Braves for $12M; he sold the Braves in 2007, for $450M. Pretty good deal.
— OF Michael Siani has played in 160 games the last four years, for the Reds/Cardinals. He’s had an interesting off-season:
November 6th- Braves claimed him off waivers.
December 10th- Braves designated him for assignment
December 12th- Dodgers claimed him off waivers.
January 21st- Dodgers designated him for assignment
January 23rd- Bronx claimed him off waivers.
January 28th- Bronx designated him for assignment.
Spring training starts next week……
— Was disappointed to hear that Buck Martinez retired as a TV announcer this week; he was very good on TV, teamed with Dan Schulman on Blue Jays games.
— Famous birthdays, February 7th:
Burt Hooton, 76
Rolf Benirschke, 71
Carney Lansford, 69
James Spader, 66
Rick Neuheisel, 65
Chris Rock, 61
Billy Joe Tolliver, 60
Juwan Howard, 53
Steve Nash, 52
Ashton Kutcher, 48
Matthew Stafford, 38
Shedeur Sanders, 24
— Last week, Portland Pilots had so many players sick, coach Shantay Legans was playing on the scout team during practice; he tore his achilles. Not ideal.
This week has been better for Portland; they upset Gonzaga as 21-point underdogs, ending a 20-game losing streak against the Zags.
— AAC is doing their conference tournament a little different this year; only 10 of their 13 teams will be in the conference tournament.
— Referee DJ Carstensen has officiated 56 games this season; he played college ball at Utica College in the early 80’s, when the Pioneers made a run at becoming a Division I team. Their coach was Larry Costello, who had coached the Milwaukee Bucks when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a rookie.
Back then, I was student manager at Albany, at the time a really good D-3 program; we played Utica every year, but when they went D-I, we didn’t beat them. Carstensen was a good player.
— Chicago Bulls are 24-28 this year, on the bubble for the last playoff spot in the East; they’ve traded away seven players, and brought in seven new players in an almost complete overhaul of their roster.
— Belmont 68, Ill-Chicago 62
Belmont was 13-31 on the arc, Flames were 3-18
Second loss in row for UIC, after an 8-game win streak.
Belmont has won nine a row, leads MVC by two games.
— There is a woman skiing in the Olympics with a torn ACL; didn’t think that was possible, but it obviously is. She is wearing a knee brace, but still, jeez, she must be very, very tough.
Teams with the most players in the World Baseball Classic:
17- Mets
16- Mariners
15- Phillies
14- Red Sox
14- Royals
14- Brewers
14- Pirates
Quote of the Day
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Lao Tzu
Saturday’s quiz
Who is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards?
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
Thursday’s quiz
Chicago Bears are the only NFL team to run the opening kickoff of a Super Bowl back for a TD.
*********************************************
Saturday’s Den: Nobody asked me, but…….
— St John’s 81, UConn 72St John’s wins its ninth game in a row.
Loss snaps Huskies’ 18-game winning streak.
Red Storm was 22-31 on foul line, UConn 5-12
Game was 39-39 at halftime.
— RIP to the great QB Sonny Jurgensen, who passed away this week at age 91; he led the NFL in passing five times in an 18-year career, for the Eagles/Redskins. In his career, Jurgensen threw for 32,224 yards, playing in an era when teams didn’t throw that much. RIP, sir.
One of the first NFL games I remember was in 1966; I was six years old. Washington beat the Giants 72-41…..
Washington ran a punt back for a TD, scored two defensive TD’s
The two kickers were brothers; Pete/Charlie Gogolak.
Giants outgained Washington 389-341, but had six turnovers.
In a game with 113 points, both teams had 100+ penalty yards.
— There is only one QB in NFL history who is eligible to be voted into the Hall of Fame who has won a Super Bowl, and also won an MVP award…….Joe Theismann.
— LA Rams are bringing in Kliff Kingsbury in to be an assistant coach next year, which should help their offense, which is already really good.
— World Baseball Classic will have 36 players who were major league All-Stars last year.
— 38-year old 1B Paul Goldschmidt signed up to go back to the Bronx this season; last year, he hit .274 with a .731 OPS in New York.
— Way back in 1976, Ted Turner bought the Atlanta Braves for $12M; he sold the Braves in 2007, for $450M. Pretty good deal.
— OF Michael Siani has played in 160 games the last four years, for the Reds/Cardinals. He’s had an interesting off-season:
November 6th- Braves claimed him off waivers.
December 10th- Braves designated him for assignment
December 12th- Dodgers claimed him off waivers.
January 21st- Dodgers designated him for assignment
January 23rd- Bronx claimed him off waivers.
January 28th- Bronx designated him for assignment.
Spring training starts next week……
— Was disappointed to hear that Buck Martinez retired as a TV announcer this week; he was very good on TV, teamed with Dan Schulman on Blue Jays games.
— Famous birthdays, February 7th:
Burt Hooton, 76
Rolf Benirschke, 71
Carney Lansford, 69
James Spader, 66
Rick Neuheisel, 65
Chris Rock, 61
Billy Joe Tolliver, 60
Juwan Howard, 53
Steve Nash, 52
Ashton Kutcher, 48
Matthew Stafford, 38
Shedeur Sanders, 24
— Last week, Portland Pilots had so many players sick, coach Shantay Legans was playing on the scout team during practice; he tore his achilles. Not ideal.
This week has been better for Portland; they upset Gonzaga as 21-point underdogs, ending a 20-game losing streak against the Zags.
— AAC is doing their conference tournament a little different this year; only 10 of their 13 teams will be in the conference tournament.
— Referee DJ Carstensen has officiated 56 games this season; he played college ball at Utica College in the early 80’s, when the Pioneers made a run at becoming a Division I team. Their coach was Larry Costello, who had coached the Milwaukee Bucks when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was a rookie.
Back then, I was student manager at Albany, at the time a really good D-3 program; we played Utica every year, but when they went D-I, we didn’t beat them. Carstensen was a good player.
— Chicago Bulls are 24-28 this year, on the bubble for the last playoff spot in the East; they’ve traded away seven players, and brought in seven new players in an almost complete overhaul of their roster.
— Belmont 68, Ill-Chicago 62
Belmont was 13-31 on the arc, Flames were 3-18
Second loss in row for UIC, after an 8-game win streak.
Belmont has won nine a row, leads MVC by two games.
— There is a woman skiing in the Olympics with a torn ACL; didn’t think that was possible, but it obviously is. She is wearing a knee brace, but still, jeez, she must be very, very tough.
Sunday’s 6-pack
Tarik Skubal’s salary, the last six years:
2021— $574,000
2022— $714,000
2023— $744,000
2024— $2.65M
2025— $10.15M
2026— $32M
Quote of the Day
“Nothing is really fun unless it’s hard. Embrace the fact that it’s hard.”
Mike Leach
Thursday’s quiz
Who was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
***************************************
North Carolina 71, Duke 68
Tar Heels hit a 3-pointer with 0:00.4 left, their first lead of game.
Duke led 18-5 right out of the gate.
UNC has won five in a row, is 19-4, 7-3 in ACC.
Clemson 77, California 55
Clemson shot 12-26 on arc, improved to 10-1 in ACC
Cal is shooting only 45.3% inside arc in ACC play (#18 of 18)
Why are these teams in the same league? Seriously?
Bracketology has ACC getting eight teams in NCAA Tournament
42.1% of shots taken in ACC games are 3’s (#4 in country)
— SEC
Oklahoma 92, Vanderbilt 91
Sooners snap a nine-game losing streak.
Oklahoma led by 21 with 4:59 left, hung on for dear life.
Vandy is 3-4 in last seven games, after a 16-0 start.
Tyler Tanner scored 37 points, had nine assists for Vandy.
Alabama 96, Auburn 92
Auburn led by 10 late in first half.
Alabama shot 12-23 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
SEC teams are shooting 39% on arc vs Auburn this year.
Bracketology has SEC getting ten teams in NCAA Tournament
SEC games are the 3rd-fastest of any league in country.
— Big 18
Indiana 78, Wisconsin 77 OT
Wisconsin was up by 4 with 0:57 left in regulation.
Hoosiers shot 61% inside the arc.
Indiana won four of last five games, is 7-6 in conference.
Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT
MSU’s Jeremy Fears scored 26 points, had 15 assists.
Loss snaps Illinois’ 12-game winning streak.
Spartans won eight of their last ten games.
Bracketology has Big 18 getting 11 teams in NCAA Tournament
42.7% of shots taken in Big 18 games are 3’s (#3 in country)
— Big East
Creighton 69, Seton Hall 68
Seton Hall led by 9 with 1:35 left in the game.
Pirates are 2-6 in last eight games, after a 14-2 start.
Bluejays snap three-game skid, are 7-6 in conference.
Marquette 70, Butler 55
Golden Eagles shot 14-31 on the arc.
Butler has won four in row, eight of last 11 games.
Marquette won its last three home games.
Bracketology has Big East getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Big East teams are shooting only 71.5% on foul line in league games (#26 in country)
— Mountain West
UNLV 80, Grand Canyon 78
Rebels hung on and snapped four-game skid.
Gibbs-Lawhorn played all 40:00, scored 29 points.
Grand Canyon is 8-4 in their first year in Mountain West.
Utah State 85, Wyoming 83
Utah State shot 69.7% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Utah State has #14 eFG% in the country.
Aggies have won five in row, are 11-2 in Mountain West.
Bracketology has Mountain West getting two teams in NCAA Tournament
Only ten MW games all season were decided by 4 or less points, or in OT.
— WCC
Gonzaga 81, Oregon State 61
Zags shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.46 ppp
Graham Ike scored 35 points, had 7 rebounds.
Beavers shot 10-18 on arc, only 36% inside arc.
Santa Clara 96, Washington State 92
Game was 49-49 at halftime.
Broncos have won eight in row, 12 of last 13 games.
Santa Clara shot 63.6% inside arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
Bracketology has WCC getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won 65.8% of WCC games, #3 in country.
— Atlantic 14
George Mason 60, Saint Joseph’s 52
St Joe’s led by 6 with 13:18 left in the game.
Hawks had 20 offensive rebounds, had 44-35 edge on boards.
Patriots are 9-2 in A-14, tied for second with VCU.
Saint Louis 82, La Salle 58
Billikens have won 17 in a row, are 11-0 in conference.
Saint Louis shot 13-30 on arc, shot 60.9% inside arc.
Saint Louis has a 61.1 eFG%, #2 in country.
Bracketology has A-14 as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won only 50.6% of A-14 games, #29 in country.
— Famous birthdays, February 8th
Nick Nolte, 85
Mary Steenburgen, 73
Marques Johnson, 70
Mary McCormack, 57
Alonzo Mourning, 56
Jamie Martin, 56
Susan Misner, 55
Julio Jones, 37
Klay Thompson, 36
Jared Triolo, 28
— MAC-Sun Belt challenge
Miami OH 90, Marshall 74
Miami led 41-17 late in first half.
RedHawks improved to 24-0 this season.
Miami is shooting 63% inside arc this year (#2 in country)
Southern Mississippi 66, Kent State 65
Kent State led by 9 with 6:59 left in the game.
Golden Flashes were only 8-18 on the foul line.
USM’s Isaac Taveras scored 16 points in 17:00 off the bench.
Sun Belt teams won 10 go the 13 games in this challenge Saturday.
Both of these leagues are one-bid leagues; the conference tournaments will be fun.
— Big X
TCU 84, Kansas State 82
K-State led by 10 with 5:26 left in the game.
TCU was 22-26 on foul line, Wildcats 5-8
Just third win in last nine games for the Horned Frogs.
Iowa State 72, Baylor 69
Iowa State shot 63.6% inside arc, had 37-25 edge on boards.
Cyclones have won five in a row, are 21-2, 8-2 in conference.
Three of Baylor’s five starters played all 40:00.
Bracketology has Big X getting 7 teams into the NCAA Tournament
Out of 31 leagues, Big X games have 6th-fastest tempo.
— Horizon
Wright State 73, Fort Wayne 68
Wright State shot 63.3% inside arc, had 39-24 edge on boards.
Raiders are 11-2 in last 13 games, after a 5-7 start.
Wright State leads Horizon by a game over Oakland.
Green Bay 76, Detroit 63
Green Bay never trailed, led by 18 early in second half.
Detroit shot only 31.4% inside the arc.
Green Bay is 14-12 this year; they were 4-28 last year.
Bracketology has Horizon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Horizon games have #3 eFG% in country; good offense/bad defense??
— Southern
East Tennessee State 87, VMI 70
Buccaneers shot 67.7% inside the arc.
ETSU has won three in row, 10 of last 12 games.
ETSU leads Wofforrd by a game, atop SoCon standings.
Citadel 78, Chattanooga 71
Citadel shot 69% inside the arc.
Citadel is 5-3 SU/6-2 ATS in their last eight games.
Chattanooga lost five of its last six games.
Bracketology has SoCon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
43.9% of shots in So-Con games are 3’s, highest %age in country.
Tarik Skubal’s salary, the last six years:
2021— $574,000
2022— $714,000
2023— $744,000
2024— $2.65M
2025— $10.15M
2026— $32M
Quote of the Day
“Nothing is really fun unless it’s hard. Embrace the fact that it’s hard.”
Mike Leach
Thursday’s quiz
Who was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl?
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
Friday’s quiz
Joe Torre is the last player to ground into four double plays in one game; he did it in 1975, the only other guy to do it was in 1934.
***************************************
Sunday’s Den: Wrapping up a college basketball Saturday……
— ACCNorth Carolina 71, Duke 68
Tar Heels hit a 3-pointer with 0:00.4 left, their first lead of game.
Duke led 18-5 right out of the gate.
UNC has won five in a row, is 19-4, 7-3 in ACC.
Clemson 77, California 55
Clemson shot 12-26 on arc, improved to 10-1 in ACC
Cal is shooting only 45.3% inside arc in ACC play (#18 of 18)
Why are these teams in the same league? Seriously?
Bracketology has ACC getting eight teams in NCAA Tournament
42.1% of shots taken in ACC games are 3’s (#4 in country)
— SEC
Oklahoma 92, Vanderbilt 91
Sooners snap a nine-game losing streak.
Oklahoma led by 21 with 4:59 left, hung on for dear life.
Vandy is 3-4 in last seven games, after a 16-0 start.
Tyler Tanner scored 37 points, had nine assists for Vandy.
Alabama 96, Auburn 92
Auburn led by 10 late in first half.
Alabama shot 12-23 on the arc, scored 1.29 ppp.
SEC teams are shooting 39% on arc vs Auburn this year.
Bracketology has SEC getting ten teams in NCAA Tournament
SEC games are the 3rd-fastest of any league in country.
— Big 18
Indiana 78, Wisconsin 77 OT
Wisconsin was up by 4 with 0:57 left in regulation.
Hoosiers shot 61% inside the arc.
Indiana won four of last five games, is 7-6 in conference.
Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT
MSU’s Jeremy Fears scored 26 points, had 15 assists.
Loss snaps Illinois’ 12-game winning streak.
Spartans won eight of their last ten games.
Bracketology has Big 18 getting 11 teams in NCAA Tournament
42.7% of shots taken in Big 18 games are 3’s (#3 in country)
— Big East
Creighton 69, Seton Hall 68
Seton Hall led by 9 with 1:35 left in the game.
Pirates are 2-6 in last eight games, after a 14-2 start.
Bluejays snap three-game skid, are 7-6 in conference.
Marquette 70, Butler 55
Golden Eagles shot 14-31 on the arc.
Butler has won four in row, eight of last 11 games.
Marquette won its last three home games.
Bracketology has Big East getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Big East teams are shooting only 71.5% on foul line in league games (#26 in country)
— Mountain West
UNLV 80, Grand Canyon 78
Rebels hung on and snapped four-game skid.
Gibbs-Lawhorn played all 40:00, scored 29 points.
Grand Canyon is 8-4 in their first year in Mountain West.
Utah State 85, Wyoming 83
Utah State shot 69.7% inside arc, scored 1.26 ppp
Utah State has #14 eFG% in the country.
Aggies have won five in row, are 11-2 in Mountain West.
Bracketology has Mountain West getting two teams in NCAA Tournament
Only ten MW games all season were decided by 4 or less points, or in OT.
— WCC
Gonzaga 81, Oregon State 61
Zags shot 63% inside arc, scored 1.46 ppp
Graham Ike scored 35 points, had 7 rebounds.
Beavers shot 10-18 on arc, only 36% inside arc.
Santa Clara 96, Washington State 92
Game was 49-49 at halftime.
Broncos have won eight in row, 12 of last 13 games.
Santa Clara shot 63.6% inside arc, scored 1.35 ppp.
Bracketology has WCC getting three teams in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won 65.8% of WCC games, #3 in country.
— Atlantic 14
George Mason 60, Saint Joseph’s 52
St Joe’s led by 6 with 13:18 left in the game.
Hawks had 20 offensive rebounds, had 44-35 edge on boards.
Patriots are 9-2 in A-14, tied for second with VCU.
Saint Louis 82, La Salle 58
Billikens have won 17 in a row, are 11-0 in conference.
Saint Louis shot 13-30 on arc, shot 60.9% inside arc.
Saint Louis has a 61.1 eFG%, #2 in country.
Bracketology has A-14 as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Home teams have won only 50.6% of A-14 games, #29 in country.
— Famous birthdays, February 8th
Nick Nolte, 85
Mary Steenburgen, 73
Marques Johnson, 70
Mary McCormack, 57
Alonzo Mourning, 56
Jamie Martin, 56
Susan Misner, 55
Julio Jones, 37
Klay Thompson, 36
Jared Triolo, 28
— MAC-Sun Belt challenge
Miami OH 90, Marshall 74
Miami led 41-17 late in first half.
RedHawks improved to 24-0 this season.
Miami is shooting 63% inside arc this year (#2 in country)
Southern Mississippi 66, Kent State 65
Kent State led by 9 with 6:59 left in the game.
Golden Flashes were only 8-18 on the foul line.
USM’s Isaac Taveras scored 16 points in 17:00 off the bench.
Sun Belt teams won 10 go the 13 games in this challenge Saturday.
Both of these leagues are one-bid leagues; the conference tournaments will be fun.
— Big X
TCU 84, Kansas State 82
K-State led by 10 with 5:26 left in the game.
TCU was 22-26 on foul line, Wildcats 5-8
Just third win in last nine games for the Horned Frogs.
Iowa State 72, Baylor 69
Iowa State shot 63.6% inside arc, had 37-25 edge on boards.
Cyclones have won five in a row, are 21-2, 8-2 in conference.
Three of Baylor’s five starters played all 40:00.
Bracketology has Big X getting 7 teams into the NCAA Tournament
Out of 31 leagues, Big X games have 6th-fastest tempo.
— Horizon
Wright State 73, Fort Wayne 68
Wright State shot 63.3% inside arc, had 39-24 edge on boards.
Raiders are 11-2 in last 13 games, after a 5-7 start.
Wright State leads Horizon by a game over Oakland.
Green Bay 76, Detroit 63
Green Bay never trailed, led by 18 early in second half.
Detroit shot only 31.4% inside the arc.
Green Bay is 14-12 this year; they were 4-28 last year.
Bracketology has Horizon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
Horizon games have #3 eFG% in country; good offense/bad defense??
— Southern
East Tennessee State 87, VMI 70
Buccaneers shot 67.7% inside the arc.
ETSU has won three in row, 10 of last 12 games.
ETSU leads Wofforrd by a game, atop SoCon standings.
Citadel 78, Chattanooga 71
Citadel shot 69% inside the arc.
Citadel is 5-3 SU/6-2 ATS in their last eight games.
Chattanooga lost five of its last six games.
Bracketology has SoCon as a one-bid league in NCAA Tournament
43.9% of shots in So-Con games are 3’s, highest %age in country.
Monday’s 6-pack
Last six Super Bowl champs (QB):
2025— Seahawks (Darnold)
2024— Eagles (Hurts)
2023— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2022— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2021— Rams (Stafford)
2020— Buccaneers (Brady)
Quote of the Day
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Benito Ocasio
Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Who was Minnesota’s QB in 2023?
Sunday’s quiz
Matt Hasselbeck was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
*****************************************
Seattle wins their second Lombardi Trophy.
Kenneth Walker carried ball 27 times for 135 yards.
Jason Myers kicked five FG’s, outscored New England by himself.
Seahawks were +3 in turnovers, scored a defensive TD.
Patriots’ first nine drives: 38 plays, 79 yards, zero points.
Seattle’s first six drives: 42 plays, 183 yards, three FG’s.
Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times, for 43 yards.
NE was first team since 1974 not to score in first 3 quarters of a Super Bowl
— Weird stat: last ten times New England was in the Super Bowl, they were outscored 27-3 in the first quarter of those games.
— Prop bet update: national anthem was done in 1:57, the under hits.
— I’m oblivious about certain things, and I had never watched the halftime show of any Super Bowl before. Before this week, I’d never heard of Bad Bunny, so I looked him up.
Real name: Benito Ocasio; he is 32 years old
For a while couple years ago, he was a pro wrestler.
He has helped make rap music more popular, world-wide.
During the halftime show, they had a couple on stage getting married, looked like it was part of the act, but apparently, that was an actual marriage ceremony that happened during halftime.
— Thursday night in Week 1 this coming September, Seahawks will be the home team.
— Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator for the Browns this year; he interviewed for the head coach’s job in Cleveland when it opened, and when he didn’t get it, he bolted, even though he has two years left on his contract.
— Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons, who were 5-3 with Kirk Cousins starting this year, 3-6 when he didn’t start, but rumor has it that the Falcons are going to cut him this spring. If he gets cut, he won’t be on the market very long.
— Famous birthdays, February 9th:
Joe Pesci, 83
Jim Nash, 81
Vince Papale, 80
Judith Light, 77
Danny White, 74
Mookie Wilson, 70
John Kruk, 65
Todd Lyght, 57
Vladimir Guerrero Sr, 51
Michael B Jordan, 39
Saquon Barkley, 29
Cobie Durant, 28
— Joe Pompliano posted the following info:
The average TV ad for the Super Bowl was $8M
5-10 ads sold for as much as $10M
For 40% of advertisers, this was their first Super Bowl ads.
NBC requires brands to match the $$$ they spend on Super Bowl on other events too
All in all, NBC was expected to rake in $800M in advertising revenue.
— USC 77, Penn State 75
Freshman G Arenas scored the game-winning hoop with 0:00.7 left.
Penn State shot 60% inside arc, led by 12 early in second half.
Trojans have won three in row, prove to 18-6, 7-6 in conference.
USC. Penn State. Why the bleep are these teams in the same league?!?!?!
— Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91, 3OT’s
UMass led by 14 with 14:39 left in regulation.
Chanticleers shot 16-34 on the arc, only 8-16 on foul line.
K’Jei Parker scored 31 points in 34:00 for UMass; he didn’t start.
— Texas Tech 70, West Virginia 63
Red Raiders never trailed, shot 13-24 on the arc.
Tech only used two subs, who played 12-3 minutes.
West Virginia shot 66.7% inside arc, 2-22 outside arc.
Tech improves to 17-6, 7-3 in Big X
— South Florida basketball coach Bryan Hodgson used to be an assistant coach at Fredonia State in western New York. I was the student manager of our basketball team in college; we played at Fredonia once, it is a long freakin’ way from Albany, about an hour west of Buffalo.
Very cold there; the young lady who sang the national anthem was very good, that’s all I can remember from that night, 45 or so years ago. Other than thinking, why would anyone want to live here for four years? It was like ten miles past the middle of nowhere.
But coach Hodgson became an assistant to Nate Oats at Buffalo, and moved up the ladder from there. He was 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and this year his USF Bulls are 16-8, 8-3 in the AAC, so Hodgson is apparently a very good coach.
— North Dakota State is moving up to I-A football and will play in the Mountain West, starting this fall; the move is going to cost the school $17M. Bison have been D-I in basketball for couple decades, but this is a big jump for them.
— NBC is going back to broadcasting baseball this year; Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo are going to be their studio analysts.
— Pitchers and catchers report on Tuesday; let’s play ball!!!!
Last six Super Bowl champs (QB):
2025— Seahawks (Darnold)
2024— Eagles (Hurts)
2023— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2022— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2021— Rams (Stafford)
2020— Buccaneers (Brady)
Quote of the Day
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Benito Ocasio
Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Who was Minnesota’s QB in 2023?
Sunday’s quiz
Matt Hasselbeck was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.
Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.
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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up Super Bowl Sunday……
— Seahawks 29, Patriots 13Seattle wins their second Lombardi Trophy.
Kenneth Walker carried ball 27 times for 135 yards.
Jason Myers kicked five FG’s, outscored New England by himself.
Seahawks were +3 in turnovers, scored a defensive TD.
Patriots’ first nine drives: 38 plays, 79 yards, zero points.
Seattle’s first six drives: 42 plays, 183 yards, three FG’s.
Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times, for 43 yards.
NE was first team since 1974 not to score in first 3 quarters of a Super Bowl
— Weird stat: last ten times New England was in the Super Bowl, they were outscored 27-3 in the first quarter of those games.
— Prop bet update: national anthem was done in 1:57, the under hits.
— I’m oblivious about certain things, and I had never watched the halftime show of any Super Bowl before. Before this week, I’d never heard of Bad Bunny, so I looked him up.
Real name: Benito Ocasio; he is 32 years old
For a while couple years ago, he was a pro wrestler.
He has helped make rap music more popular, world-wide.
During the halftime show, they had a couple on stage getting married, looked like it was part of the act, but apparently, that was an actual marriage ceremony that happened during halftime.
— Thursday night in Week 1 this coming September, Seahawks will be the home team.
— Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator for the Browns this year; he interviewed for the head coach’s job in Cleveland when it opened, and when he didn’t get it, he bolted, even though he has two years left on his contract.
— Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons, who were 5-3 with Kirk Cousins starting this year, 3-6 when he didn’t start, but rumor has it that the Falcons are going to cut him this spring. If he gets cut, he won’t be on the market very long.
— Famous birthdays, February 9th:
Joe Pesci, 83
Jim Nash, 81
Vince Papale, 80
Judith Light, 77
Danny White, 74
Mookie Wilson, 70
John Kruk, 65
Todd Lyght, 57
Vladimir Guerrero Sr, 51
Michael B Jordan, 39
Saquon Barkley, 29
Cobie Durant, 28
— Joe Pompliano posted the following info:
The average TV ad for the Super Bowl was $8M
5-10 ads sold for as much as $10M
For 40% of advertisers, this was their first Super Bowl ads.
NBC requires brands to match the $$$ they spend on Super Bowl on other events too
All in all, NBC was expected to rake in $800M in advertising revenue.
— USC 77, Penn State 75
Freshman G Arenas scored the game-winning hoop with 0:00.7 left.
Penn State shot 60% inside arc, led by 12 early in second half.
Trojans have won three in row, prove to 18-6, 7-6 in conference.
USC. Penn State. Why the bleep are these teams in the same league?!?!?!
— Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91, 3OT’s
UMass led by 14 with 14:39 left in regulation.
Chanticleers shot 16-34 on the arc, only 8-16 on foul line.
K’Jei Parker scored 31 points in 34:00 for UMass; he didn’t start.
— Texas Tech 70, West Virginia 63
Red Raiders never trailed, shot 13-24 on the arc.
Tech only used two subs, who played 12-3 minutes.
West Virginia shot 66.7% inside arc, 2-22 outside arc.
Tech improves to 17-6, 7-3 in Big X
— South Florida basketball coach Bryan Hodgson used to be an assistant coach at Fredonia State in western New York. I was the student manager of our basketball team in college; we played at Fredonia once, it is a long freakin’ way from Albany, about an hour west of Buffalo.
Very cold there; the young lady who sang the national anthem was very good, that’s all I can remember from that night, 45 or so years ago. Other than thinking, why would anyone want to live here for four years? It was like ten miles past the middle of nowhere.
But coach Hodgson became an assistant to Nate Oats at Buffalo, and moved up the ladder from there. He was 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and this year his USF Bulls are 16-8, 8-3 in the AAC, so Hodgson is apparently a very good coach.
— North Dakota State is moving up to I-A football and will play in the Mountain West, starting this fall; the move is going to cost the school $17M. Bison have been D-I in basketball for couple decades, but this is a big jump for them.
— NBC is going back to broadcasting baseball this year; Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo are going to be their studio analysts.
— Pitchers and catchers report on Tuesday; let’s play ball!!!!
