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TL’s Sunday Sports Notes | Aug 13

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They’ll Be Staging the Tournament of Posers Parade

By TERRY LYONS

BOSTON – Two or three years ago, did anyone in college sports think the PAC-12 was about to implode? Did anyone project a late Fall USC vs UCLA game, played in the beautiful Southern California sun of the Rose Bowl, would count in the B1G TEN standings? Did any sports administrator think Stanford, Cal and then Oregon State and Washington State would be without a home Conference to compete in for the 2024 season?

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Come this January 1st, the conferences formerly known as the B1G TEN and PAC 12 will be staging the “Tournament of Posers” parade instead of playing in the annual Rose Bowl where the B1G TEN champion takes on the PAC 12 champ in the gran’ daddy of ‘em all.

OPENING AFC WIN TOTALS/ODDS: Are you ready for some football (again)? Last week, we ran the NFC Conference franchise win totals for the 2023 season. This week, it’s the AFC Conference. Again, you decide, is it Over or Under?

  • Baltimore Over 8.5 (-140) Under 8.5 (+120)
  • Buffalo Over 10.5 (-125) Under 10.5 (+105)
  • Cincinnati Over 11.5 (-110) Under 11.5 (-110)
  • Cleveland Over 8.5 (-140) Under 8.5 (+120)
  • Denver Over 8.5 (115) Under 8.5 (-105)
  • Houston Over 5.5 (-110) Under 5.5 (-110)
  • Indianapolis Over 6.5 (-150) Under 6.5 (+125)
  • Jacksonville Over 9.5 (-140) Under 9.5 (+120)
  • Kansas City Over 11.5 (-110) Under 11.5 (-110)
  • Las Vegas Raiders Over 7.5 (+120) Under 7.5 (-140)
  • Los Angeles Chargers Over 9.5 (-110) Under 9.5 (+125)
  • Miami Dolphins Over 9.5 (+110) Under 9.5 (-130)
  • New England Over 7.5 (-115) Under 7.5 (-105)
  • New York Jets Over 9.5 (-135) Under 9.5 (+115)
  • Pittsburgh Over 8.5 (-115) Under 8.5 (-105)
  • Tennessee Over 7.5 (-105) Under 7.5 (+105)

The only play to make is taking the Cincy Bengals “Under” 11.5 (-110) and keep an eye on the progress (or lack thereof) with QB Joe Burrow’s calf injury.

FOR BOSTON, FOR SALE: For those of you who don’t follow every pitch of the MLB season, oft-injured pitcher Chris Sale of the Red Sox impressed in his Friday night outing, his first start since June 1, 2023. Sale retired each of his first 14 batters and allowed two runs on only one hit in 4.2 innings. The Red Sox improved to (9-3) in Sale’s starts, including (6-1) over his last seven outings. For that seven game stretch in the 2023 campaign, Sale owns a 2.43 ERA and a .178 opponent’s batting average.

SHOW ON THE ROAD: In the second of five USA Basketball Showcase games, the U.S. came away with a wire-to-wire victory (92-62) over Slovenia at Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain. The US senior national team is on its way to compete in the FIBA World Cup of Basketball in Manila. … The U.S. won by a margin of 30 points (92-62) after winning their first friendly of ‘23 against Puerto Rico by 43 points (117-74). Since 1992, the USA has won its two opening exhibition games by 30+ points three times (2023, 2016, 1994). … USA’s Anthony Edwards finished with 15 points (7-14 FG) to go along with four rebounds and three steals. He’s led the team in scoring and takeaways in both exhibitions. … Game 3 of the Showcase is on OTA television today (Aug. 13th) at 3:30pm (ET) on FOX. The United States will take on Spain.

TIDBITS: During the pregame ceremonies Saturday, the Boston Red Sox organization presented retiring MLB great Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers with a “No. 24” made from the Fenway Green Monster numbers. So Cool, So Cool, So Cool. … At the Friday night festivities at Mohegan Sun – the business partner and semi-host of the Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement weekend – ESPN’s Holly Rowe was honored with the Curt Gowdy Award for Media. Rowe gave the best speech of the night. … Hall of Fame coach Gregg Popovich on Hall of Fame point guard Tony Parker (soon after Parker was drafted late in the first round of the 2001 NBA Draft by R.C. Buford: “I hated him,” Popovich said in a pre-Enshrinement press conference held Friday. “I said I don’t want him. He’s a weenie. He’s unaggressive. He doesn’t like contact, he’s 19, and I don’t want to see him.” … Buford and Parker’s agent, Marc Fleisher, made arrangement for a second work-out. … “The rest is history,” said Popovich. … The fires of Lahaina have devastated the Hawaiian Island of Maui and the folks at Sentry Insurance, sponsor of the annual PGA Tour opener for champions at The Plantation Course in Kapalua, issued a statement of support: “The devastation caused by wildfires in Lahaina and other parts of Maui is heartbreaking for all of us at Sentry. Through The Sentry, our PGA TOUR tournament in Kapalua, and the Connected Communities initiative between Stevens Point and Maui, we’ve come to know the island of Maui. We’ve made friends and built deep relationships over the years,” read the statement.

“Maui is not just the home of our tournament—it’s a cherished community we proudly consider our second home. We’re relieved to share that, after reaching out, our longstanding partners and friends on Maui are safe. This is still a critical situation and we’re working closely with them to understand their most pressing needs. We’ll share more about our support in the coming days. If you’d like to support the relief efforts on Maui, two of our Connected Communities partners, the Maui United Way and University of Hawaii-Maui, have established relief funds.”

WWYI notes the American Red Cross is another way to support relief efforts and you can give – HERE

Red Sox to Face E-Rod and Tigers

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BOSTON – (Staff and Wire Service Preview) – Detroit left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch against his former team on Sunday when the visiting Tigers wrap up a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Rodriguez, 30, made his major league debut with the Red Sox in 2015. He had a 64-39 record in 159 appearances (153 starts) over six seasons with Boston.

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Rodriguez (8-5, 2.75 ERA) signed a five-year, $77 million contract with the Tigers after the 2021 season but said he recalls his time with the Red Sox fondly.

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“I have a lot of good memories here, and it feels good to be back here,” Rodriguez said before Boston opened the series with a 5-2 victory on Friday night.

Rodriguez didn’t pitch in June because of an injury to his left index finger, but he tossed seven scoreless innings on Tuesday to help Detroit beat Minnesota 6-0. Earlier this month, he invoked the no-trade clause in his contract to keep him from being dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Rodriguez has made 17 starts for the Tigers this season. Opposing batters are hitting .218 with a .594 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against him. He’s 4-1 with a 3.63 ERA in his last seven starts.

Sunday will mark Rodriguez’s second career start against Boston. He allowed seven runs — just two earned — in 3 2/3 innings versus the Red Sox on April 13, 2022.

Kutter Crawford (5-6, 3.80) will pitch for Boston. Crawford took the loss when Kansas City beat the Red Sox 9-3 on Tuesday. He gave up three runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. He is 1-0 with a 6.75 ERA in two career appearances (one start) against Detroit. He has allowed four runs on eight hits in 5 1/3 innings against the Tigers.

Detroit hit four solo home runs atop the Green Monster in Saturday’s 6-2 triumph over Boston. Kerry Carpenter hit two of them and has three in the series.

“Any time I’m going well, I’m using the opposite field,” the lefty-hitting Carpenter said. “In this ballpark (Fenway Park), it’s easier to hit them out to left here. Anything they throw hard I want to hit that way.”

The Red Sox were 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position on Saturday and saw their three-game winning streak come to an end.

Garrett Whitlock is expected to return from the injured list on Sunday and be available out of the Red Sox bullpen. The right-hander pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings in a rehab assignment for Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday.

Whitlock has been on the injured list since July 4 because of an elbow bone bruise. Whitlock has made 10 appearances, all starts, for the Red Sox this season, but Boston manager Alex Cora said earlier this week that Whitlock is returning as a reliever.

“He wanted to come back as soon as possible,” Cora said. “This is the best way. We’ll stretch him out. He’s gonna go two, three innings. It was more about his willingness to get ready and help us as soon as possible.”

Cora said there is a good chance third baseman Rafael Devers will have Sunday off. The lefty-hitting Devers leads the Red Sox with 26 home runs but will not play because Cora envisions loading his lineup with right-handed batters against Rodriguez.

“Have a good day (Sunday), win the series and move on,” Cora said.

–Field Level Media

Glover Leads at FedEx St. Jude

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MEMPHIS – Lucas Glover holds his fifth career 54-hole lead/co-lead and is 1-for-4 converting the victory (2023 Wyndham Championship). He’s the first player to hold the 54-hole lead in back-to-back weeks on TOUR since Patrick Cantlay (2021 BMW Championship, TOUR Championship)

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At 43 years old, Glover became the first player to hold the 54-hole lead at 40 or older in the FedExCup Playoffs since Tiger Woods (42 years, 2018 TOUR Championship).

Odds and probabilities available at: Digital Sports Desk

Making only his second FedEx Cup Playoffs appearance, Taylor Moore (2nd/-13) carded a (65) and leads the field in Greens in Regulation Percentage at 75.93% (41/54) through three round. He earned his maiden PGA TOUR title at the Valspar Championship alongside two other Top-10s this season (T4/Zurich Classic of New Orleans; T4/Rocket Mortgage Classic).

Tommy Fleetwood (3rd/-12) posted his third consecutive (66) and seeks to join Will Zalatoris (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship) and Camilo Villegas (2018 BMW Championship) as players to win their first PGA TOUR title in a FedExCup Playoffs event.

Max Homa (T4/-11) posted a bogey-free (65) to sit inside the Top 5 through 54 holes on TOUR for the first time since The Genesis Invitational (2nd/finished 2nd). Homa has finished no higher than T42 in six previous starts at TPC Southwind (2022 FedEx St. Jude Championship)

Justin Rose (T23/-6) needed 21 putts to post a bogey-free 9-under (61), tying the course record set by Tom Lewis (R3/2020), Bob Estes (R1/2001) and Jay Delsing (R4/1993). He’s played his last 36 holes at (-12).

FedEx St Jude Championship | Leaderboard After 54 Holes

1 Lucas Glover 66 64 66 196 (-14)

2 Taylor Moore 66 66 65 197 (-13)

3 Tommy Fleetwood 66 66 66 198 (-12)

T4 Max Homa 68 66 65 199 (-11)

T4 Jordan Spieth 63 68 68 199 (-11)

Full Leaderboard (link)

NBA Finals Rivals Enter Hall Together

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SPRINGFIELD –  (Staff and Wire Service Report) – After going head-to-head in the NBA Finals in 2006 and 2011, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki found themselves on the same side for once on Saturday night.

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Wade and Nowitzki were among those enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., part of a loaded 2023 class that featured a total of 12 new inductees.

Wade led the Heat to a title in 2006, being named Finals MVP after averaging 34.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists as Miami toppled the Mavericks in six games.

Dallas got its revenge five years later, though, beating the Heat in six games for its only championship in franchise history. This time it was Nowitzki’s turn to secure Finals MVP honors, as he went for 26.0 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.

Twelve years removed from their latest clash on the NBA’s biggest stage, the two have gotten to know each other as people as opposed to competitors.

“For Dirk and me, it’s been therapy,” Wade said about his post-career journey with Nowitzki and some of the other inductees. “Who would have thought that we would be on the same team after all of our battles, but here we are, and it’s one of the greatest teams I’ve ever been on.”

Wade, 41, went on to win two more titles by the time his 16-year NBA career was all said and done. He was a 13-time All-Star and posted career averages of 22.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.4 assists, spending most of his time with Miami, where he spent 15 seasons.

After coming up short in the Finals in 2006, Nowitzki, 45, was named league MVP following the 2006-07 campaign. A 14-time All-Star, Nowitzki was a beacon of loyalty for over two decades, spending his entire 21-year career with the Mavericks. He averaged 20.7 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists across 1,522 games (1,460 starts).

If Wade and Nowitzki weren’t battling each other, they were often trying to fend off the Spurs. San Antonio was well-represented on Saturday night, as guard Tony Parker and longtime coach Gregg Popovich were also part of the Class of 2023.

Parker, 41, won four titles during his 17 seasons with the Spurs. Popovich, 74, was at the helm for all four of those championships, plus a fifth in 1999. Next season will be his 29th as San Antonio’s coach, and he heads into it with 1,366 regular-season wins along with 170 in the playoffs.

One of Popovich’s disciples, Becky Hammon, was also inducted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday. Following a successful playing career in the WNBA and overseas, the 46-year-old Hammon worked as an assistant on the Spurs’ staff from 2014-22. She is now head coach of the Las Vegas Aces, who currently own the best record in the WNBA at 26-3.

In her first season as coach of the Aces, Hammon led Las Vegas to its first title in franchise history.

“You’re a man of principle and excellence,” Hammon said to Popovich. “I know you weren’t trying to be courageous when you hired me, but you did do something nobody else in professional sports has ever done.