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?
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