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Cardinals Post-Season Play - 1943
LSU Baseball: 1987 Postseason Play
Baseball Odd Facts
Almost Heroes: 1962 NL Playoff - Game 3
How Would You Rule? - Does the run count?
Baseball Quiz - Second longest hitting streak
Short Story - Hooking Catfish |
Pivotal LSU Football Moments
1932: LSU Hires Biff Jones As Coach
Governor Long wanted more discipline in the LSU program.
Read the story ...
Pivotal Pro Football Moments
1961 AFL Championship: Oilers @ Chargers
Golden NFL Rankings after 11 Weeks
| # |
Team |
Avg. |
Total |
Win |
Loss |
Opp.
Wins |
Opp.
Losses |
Margin
Value |
Last
Week |
| 1 |
Arizona |
18.11 |
199.20 |
9 |
2 |
43 |
9 |
5.20 |
1 |
| 2 |
Dallas |
17.54 |
175.36 |
7 |
3 |
35 |
12 |
3.36 |
2 |
| 3 |
Tampa Bay |
17.29 |
172.92 |
7 |
3 |
33 |
14 |
2.92 |
5 |
| 4 |
Green Bay |
17.14 |
188.58 |
8 |
3 |
36 |
14 |
0.42 |
4 |
| 5 |
Tennessee |
17.09 |
188.00 |
8 |
3 |
42 |
18 |
2.51 |
3 |
| 6 |
Kansas City |
17.09 |
188.00 |
7 |
4 |
38 |
14 |
2.47 |
6 |
| 7 |
LA Rams |
16.89 |
168.93 |
7 |
3 |
25 |
10 |
1.18 |
8 |
| 8 |
LA Chargers |
16.88 |
168.75 |
6 |
4 |
33 |
15 |
0.55 |
10 |
| 9 |
Baltimore |
16.83 |
168.25 |
7 |
3 |
33 |
16 |
1.06 |
9 |
| 10 |
Minnesota |
16.44 |
164.43 |
5 |
5 |
23 |
17 |
0.66 |
15 |
"Opp. wins" means the total number of wins
by the teams that ranked team defeated.
"Opp. losses" means the total number of losses by the teams that defeated the ranked team.
Teams that jumped highest amount from last week: Vikings, Colts (+5)
Teams that dropped the furthest: Saints, Panthers (-5)
Complete Golden NFL rankings
Division Rankings
| Rank |
Division |
Average |
Last Week |
| 1 |
NFC West |
16.551 |
1 |
| 2 |
AFC West |
16.404 |
2 |
| 3 |
AFC North |
16.336 |
3 |
| 4 |
NFC South |
15.948 |
4 |
| 5 |
NFC East |
15.947 |
5 |
| 6 |
AFC East |
15.452 |
6 |
| 7 |
NFC North |
15.451 |
7 |
| 8 |
AFC South |
15.259 |
8 |
Overall: NFC 15.974, AFC 15.863
Did You Notice? NFL Week 11
- Another Unfathomable Titans Loss
Tennessee has three losses. The first came on opening day against Arizona, 38-13. Nobody thought much of that one either way because it was a new season. Now we know the Cardinals are one of the best teams in the league. But after two wins behind Derrick Henry's combined 295y rushing, the Titans lost to the Jets 27-24 in overtime despite Henry's 157y rushing. Tennessee then ripped off six straight wins, the last two coming after Henry suffered a broken foot. Last week, the Titans lost to 1-8 Houston at home 22-13. The main culprit: Four INTs thrown by QB Ryan Tannehill. Feared lost for the season, Henry could return in early January if all goes well on his recovery. In the meantime, the Titans have to avoid upsets to make the playoffs. Otherwise, Henry won't have much to return to.
- Speaking of Upsets
We may view it differently by season's end, but the Colts' 41-15 thumping of Buffalo was surprising. Maybe not the fact that Indy won but by how much. The Colts lost their first three games and four of their first five. But since then, they are 5-1, the loss coming to Tennessee in OT. Still, it was surprising that the Bills, after their shocking loss to the Jaguars two weeks earlier, were so outclassed last Sunday. A new star is emerging in the person of Indy RB Jonathan Taylor who torched the Bills for 185y and a franchise-record five touchdowns (four rushing, one receiving). He now has six games over 100y.
- Carolina Reunion
Remember Super Bowl 50? It was a dull 24-10 victory by the 12-4 Broncos over the 15-1 Panthers in Peyton Manning's fairwell game. Carolina QB Cam Newton cried afterward because his offense gained 315y to Denver's 194 but couldn't get enough points to win.
Last Sunday, Ron Rivera, the coach of Carolina's Super Bowl team, led Washington into Charlotte to take on the Panthers in Newton's second game back with the Panthers.
A week after Carolina blasted the high-flying Cardinals 34-10 in Cam's debut, they lost to Washington 27-21. He had a good day, completing 21 of 27 for 189y ad two TDs. He also rushed 10 times for 46y and a TD. But seven penalties for 65y, several of which negated big Christian McCaffrey runs, and a bad snap on 3rd-and-1 that went to McCaffrey instead of Newton hurt Carolina.
- Gronkowski Returns
Is TE Rob Gronkowski an essential cog in the Bucs' offense? It would seem so as Tampa Bay rolled to a 30-10 Monday night victory over the Giants in Gronk's return after missing five games with an injury. He caught six passes for 71y.
Or was it the improved play of the defense, which was able to get off the field on third down more frequently, tackled better and responded to Coach Bruce Arians' plea to play with more passion? At any rate, the Bucs won for the first time in 29 days and extended their lead in the NFC South to two games to move into a three-way tie with the Rams and Cowboys for third in the NFC.
- Chargers Snap Steelers' Streak
The most exciting game of the weekend was the Chargers' 41-37 win that snapped Pittsburgh's five-game winning streak. LA RB Austin Ekeler scored four touchdowns (giving him 13 for the season) and Justin Herbert threw for three against the reeling Pitt defense. The victory kept the Chargers in the hunt for the AFC West, only a half game behind Kansas City which won their fourth in a row after starting the season 3-4. The Steelers sorely missed DE T.J. Watt and DB Minkah Fitzpatrick as they gave up 12 more points than in any previous game this season.
- No Jackson? No Problem
Baltimore's offense struggled without QB Lamar Jackson, who was out with a non-COVID illness. Fortunately, they were playing the offensively-challenged Bears led by rookie QB Justin Fields who exited the game in the third quarter with a rib injury. The Ravens pulled out the 16-13 victory when backup QB Tyler Huntley led a drive that resulted in the game-winning TD with 22 seconds left.
Intriguing Numbers - NFL Week 11
| 2011 |
Last time a running back had multple running and receiving scores in a game (Maurice Jones-Drew) before Austin Ekeler did it for the Chargers Sunday |
| 3.5 |
Sacks by Chiefs DT Chris Jones on Dallas QB Dak Prescott. That was 0.5 more than he had in all previous games this season. |
| 16 |
Points scored by KC on their first three drives against Dallas |
| 3 |
Points scored by KC the rest of the game |
| 37:20 |
Bengals' possession time, 14:50 more than the Raiders |
| 13 |
Points scored by the Seahawks in the last two games after QB Russell Wilson's return from a finger injury |
| 467 |
Offensive yardage by the Packers in their 34-31 loss to Minnesota |
| 4-0 |
Washington's recod when scoring 25+ points |
| 5:16 |
Time remaining in the game when the Lions took possession of the ball with more penalty yards than passing yards in their 13-10 loss to Cleveland |
| 5 |
Consecutive losses by the Bears |
| 37-23 |
Time of possession edge for the Eagles against the Saints |
| 17 |
Points the Eagles scored off of three takeaways |
Golden College Rankings - Week 12
|
Team |
Avg. |
Points |
Win |
Loss |
Opp
Wins |
Opp
Losses |
Score
Value |
Opp
Opps |
Road
Win |
Home
Loss |
Last
Week |
| 1 |
Georgia |
16.56 |
182.2 |
11 |
0 |
61 |
0 |
9.58 |
253 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
1 |
| 2 |
Ohio State |
15.71 |
172.8 |
10 |
1 |
52 |
2 |
7.77 |
189 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
4 |
| 3 |
Notre Dame |
15.67 |
172.4 |
10 |
1 |
52 |
0 |
5.24 |
228 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
2 |
| 4 |
Michigan |
15.64 |
172.0 |
10 |
1 |
51 |
2 |
6.72 |
195 |
1.0 |
0.0 |
3 |
| 5 |
Oklahoma State |
15.50 |
170.4 |
10 |
1 |
55 |
5 |
5.17 |
207 |
0.5 |
0.5 |
5 |
| 6 |
Alabama |
15.37 |
169.0 |
10 |
1 |
48 |
3 |
6.11 |
198 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
7 |
| 7 |
Cincinnati |
15.35 |
168.8 |
11 |
0 |
47 |
0 |
6.56 |
169 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
8 |
| 8 |
Wisconsin |
14.94 |
164.3 |
8 |
3 |
45 |
6 |
5.39 |
173 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
6 |
| 9 |
Texas San Antonio |
14.83 |
163.1 |
11 |
0 |
43 |
0 |
3.13 |
150 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
10 |
| 10 |
Baylor |
14.79 |
162.7 |
9 |
2 |
46 |
7 |
3.71 |
174 |
0.5 |
0.0 |
14 |
- "Opps. wins" is the number of victories by the teams the ranked team defeated.
- "Opps. losses" is the number of losses by the teams that defeated the ranked team.
- "Opp. opps". is the number of victories by the teams the defeated teams beat.
- "Score value" is a measure of the margin of victory in relation to the defeated team's number of wins coupled with the margin of defeat in relation to the victorious team's number of losses.
- "Road win" bonus is earned by beating a road opponent that has won at least six games. A home loss penalty when you lose at home to a team with six or more losses.
Toughest schedule: Miami (FL)
Easiest schedule: Coastal Carolina
Team that jumped up the most this week: Wyoming 18 places
Team that dropped the most: Georgia State 18 places
Conference Rankings
| |
Conference |
Avg. |
Last
Week |
| 1 |
SEC |
13.286 |
1 |
| 2 |
Big 10 |
13.088 |
2 |
| 3 |
Big 12 |
12.823 |
3 |
| 4 |
ACC |
12.429 |
4 |
| 5 |
Mountain West |
12.241 |
5 |
| 6 |
PAC 12 |
11.873 |
6 |
| 7 |
America Ath. Conf. |
11.840 |
7 |
| 8 |
Sun Belt |
11.244 |
8 |
| 9 |
MAC |
11.186 |
9 |
| 10 |
CUSA |
11.013 |
10 |
Avg. means the average score of the teams in the conference (with 12 being the starting point for each game and going up/down depending on whether the team wins/loses).
The PAC 12 continues to lag behind the non-Power Five Mountain West.
Did You Notice? NCAA Week 12
- Remaining Undefeated Teams: Cincinnati, Georgia, Texas San Antonio
- Texas Woes
Texas's sixth straight loss–to West Virginia 31-23–and seventh overall left me wondering: When was the last time Texas lost seven games in a season?
The surprising answer is that it was just five years ago. The Longhorns lost seven games in each season from 2014 to 2016 under Coach Charlie Strong.
The results this year under first-year coach Steve Sarkisian–who may not get a second year–provide a cautionary tale for schools like LSU, USC, Florida, Virginia Tech, Washington, and others who are seeking new coaches. Tom Herman, the coach Texas hired to replace Strong for the 2017 season, had a winning record each of his four years (22-14 total) and won a bowl game every year!
- Red Raiders Shut Out
Oklahoma State remained in the running for a spot in the Big 12 championship game by beating Texas Tech 23-0. That result provokes the question, When was the last time Texas Tech was shutout? After all, this is a program that has produced high-powered offenses for decades, going back to Mike Leach and his Air Raid attack from 2000-2009. Patrick Mahomes was the quarterback from 2014-16. So shutouts are rare for Texas Tech. So the answer to the question is: The last time the Red Raiders were shut out was 1997 against Nebraska.
- Be Careful What You Say on the Air
In researching the Texas Tech story, I ran across an interesting tidbit from Week 11. Last Wednesday, the Big 12 Commissioner issued a public reprimand of the Texas Tech radio announcers for statements made during their broadcast of Tech's game against Iowa State. Play-by-play host Brian Jensen and analyst John Harris were critical of the officials during the game, going so far as to list individual names. As a result, the duo was not allowed to call last Saturday's game against Oklahoma State. Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said, "Questioning the integrity of Conference officials and specifically calling out members of the officiating crew is well beyond appropriate and permissible behavior."
During the broadcast, Harris told listeners after an apparent interception by Tech was overturned, "The Big 12 does not want Iowa State to lose this game." Jensen added, "Yeah, Bob Bowlsby, you need to answer to this. This is ridiculous. The inconsistency of this referee crew in favor of Iowa State. Unbelievable."
Texas Tech students began throwing trash on the field after the interception was overturned, causing the officials to hit the Raiders with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The students were ordered to vacate two sections and leave the stadium.
Jensen said, "The Big 12 should be embarrassed with this group. We've only pointed out two guys. I'm gonna read 'em all to you." He then proceeded to name every member of the crew.
But here's the surprising bottom line: Texas Tech won the game, 41-38!
- UTSA Survives
It wasn't easy, but Texas San Antonio remained undefeated by scoring a touchdown with three seconds left to defeat Alabama-Birmingham 34-31. From the UAB 1, QB Frank Harris fumbled the shotgun snap but picked up the ball and flipped it left-handed toward Oscar Cardenas in the end zone. The ball was tipped by a defender but Oscar was able to grab it.
Included in UTSA's 11 victories is an opening week 37-30 triumph at Illinois.
You'd think Coach Jeff Traylor would be a candidate for a Power Five job, but I haven't seen his name mentioned for any openings.
- Ducks Fly Away from CFP
Utah didn't do their Pac-12 Conference a favor Saturday night when they clobbered #4 Oregon 38-7. The Pac-12 now has no chance of landing a team in the College Football Playoff. Utah has only one conference loss (to Oregon's two) but has two other defeats. The Utes will move up from their #23 ranking in last week's CFP rankings but will still be in a double-digit position. Oregon's loss also increases the chances of one conference (SEC or Big Ten) getting two of the four CFP spots.
- Liberty's Wacky Drive
Facing ULL, the Flames had a 13-play drive that netted 14y and ended with a punt on fourth-and-goal. The drive went from Liberty's 42 to ULL's two, but a touchdown was called back for holding, followed by another hold, then two sacks that lost 22 more yards. So Liberty had to punt on fourth down from the ULL 44. The Ragin' Cajuns won 42-14.
- Crazy Stats Game
1st downs: Washington 22 Colorado 9
Total Yards: Washington 426 Colorado 183
Turnovers: Washington 4 Colorado 0
Final score: Colorado 20 Washington 17
Intriguing Numbers - Week 12
| 1945 |
Last time a matchup of top-seven teams had a victory margin larger than Ohio State's 56-7 thrashing of Michigan State (Army 61 Penn 0) |
| 17 |
Consecutive completions by Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud, a school record, as part of his 32-of-35 performance |
559 |
Passing yards by Alabama's Bryce Young, breaking the previous school record of 484 set by Scott Hunter in 1969. |
| 2 |
QBs who have thrown for 300y and rushed for 200 in a game after Louisville's Malik Cunningham did it against Duke. The other QB was Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo in 1999. |
| 3 |
FBS teams that have multiple one-point wins this season with all three in the Mid America Conference: Northern Illinois (3), Buffalo (2), and Eastern Michigan (2) |
| 1-7 |
Nebraska record in Big Ten play this year |
| +7 |
Nebraska's score differential in its eight conference games thanks to its
56-7 victory over Northwestern |
| 5-19 |
Record of Nebraska coach Scott Frost in one-possession games |
| 9 |
Combined fumbles by Oklahoma (3) and Iowa State (6) in the Sooners' 28-21 victory Saturday. Only one of the fumbles was recovered by the opposition. |
| 10 |
Consecutive seasons in which Appalachian State has produced a 1,000y rusher. The next closest team has three. |
| 7 |
Consecutive games in which Georgia Tech has allowed at least 480y. The Yellow Jackets won two of the first three games in the streak before losing the next five |
| 4 |
Consecutive plays on which Purdue sacked Northwestern in the Boilermakers' 32-14 win. |
| 5 |
Running backs who have had a career high in rushing yards against Charlotte this year |
| 3 |
Non-quarterbacks who threw TD passes for Southern Mississippi in their 35-19 victory over Louisiana Tech. With no available QB, the Golden Eagles run a wildcat offense. |
20th Century Baseball Tidbits
- 1913
Ebbets Field in Brooklyn opened at the beginning of this season.
The New York Giants easily won the NL pennant for the second year in a row as the two-year uptick in hitting with the cork-centered baseball ended. Runs dropped by over 1,000 in the two leagues and numerous sub-2.00 ERAs returned.
The new home run sensation in the NL was Gavvy Cravath, who had flopped with three AL teams and spent two years in the minors before returning to the majors to help the Philadelphia Phillies vault to second place.
Cravath led the league in hits (179), HR (19) RBI (128), SLG (.568), and TB (298). The Phils also benefitted from excellent pitching by Tom Seaton, who led the league with 27 wins, and Grover Cleveland "Pete" Alexander, who went 22-8 with a 2.79 ERA.
The Philadelphia Athletics repeated as AL champs while Washington finished second, 6 1/2 games behind. The Senators rode the strong right arm of Walter Johnson, who had the best season of his career. He won an aastounding 36 games and lost only seven. He led the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts, and fewest hits per game.
Once again Ty Cobb and Joe Jackson finished first and second in batting at .390 and .373.
For the second year in a row, the Athletics defeated the Giants in the World Series. Connie Mack's outstanding pitching staff had little trouble with a Giants lineup depleted by injuries to Fred Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, and Chief Meyers.
1913 was year the New York
Highlanders becoming the New York Yankees.
- 1914
This season is known for the "Miracle Braves" from Boston. Led by their "master motivator and pioneer of platooning" manager, George Stallings, they rose from last place on July 18 to win the NL pennant by 10 1/2 games. Their record during that span was an amazing 59-16. They then topped off their season with a four-game sweep of the mighty Athletics.
Eight wealthy idustrialists launched a third major league. The Federal League's eight teams lured numerous big names away from the American and National League, thereby forcing higher salaries across the two older leagues.
The biggest legacy of the Federal League was Wrigley Field, which opened as Weeghman Field, the home of owner Charles Weeghman's Chicago Chi-Feds.
On July 1 Babe Ruth made his major league debut for the Boston Red Sox, pitching seven innings to beat the Cleveland Naps.
Source: 20th Century Baseball Chronicle: A Year-by-Year History of Major League Baseball
Previous Years
Pivotal World Series Moments
1912: Smokey Joe Guts It Out in Game 1
Giants' miscues contribute to their defeat.
Read the story ...
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Clash of Titans: Games between Hall of Fame Coaches
1916: Illinois @ Minnesota
Robert Zuppke vs Henry Williams
One writer predicted a 50-point victory for the Golden Gophers.
Read the story ...
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