September 23, 2022 News and Notes

• To give you an idea of how bad Rutgers and Iowa are, at least offensively:  The Vegas total for this game, according to BetMGM, is only 33.5.  If that stands, according to Yahoo!, it will be the lowest Vegas total for a college football game since a Pac-10 tilt between Arizona and Oregon State went for 33 in 1995.  And the under hit:  20-11.  
• And the Wisconsin game Iowa had last year totaled 34 at kick -- pushed.  Wisconsin won 27-7.
  
• Iowa had that field goal and two safeties classic to start their season.  A long punt return led to their lone touchdown two weeks ago, and last week Nevada-Reno just has no defense whatsoever.
• Rutgers could only manage 16 points against Temple, and could not score an offensive touchdown.
• Japan seems to be doing quite well in Qatar warmups.  An earlier 4-0 victory was followed up by a 2-0 win today in Germany over the United States.  The main tournament begins in less than two months.  I'm still not sure if I'm going to cover it or boycott it, Russia-style.
  
• A protester at the Laver Cup in London disrupted play by setting a portion of the court near the net on fire.  He also got his arm.  He was protesting the use of private jets in the UK.
  
• Someone else had done the same in a 2022 French Open semifinal with a shirt saying "We Have 1028 Days Left".  March 22, 2025?    
• The Aaron Judge and Albert Pujols home run milestone watches have hit small snags, and there are now only two weeks to go in the baseball season.
• The Celtics owner says a months-long inquiry came before the year suspension for head coach Ime Udoka. That's obvious, sir.  The question you should be asking is why you didn't fire him now -- or is that simply a function that he'd go somewhere else?  There is belief he still will be fired after June 30 of next year, when the suspension ends.   
• There is now an additional charge that Udoka made unwanted sexual remarks to another female staffer.  He's gone.  The only question is the circumstances.  Take this from someone who knows:  This is only going to mushroom.  Udoka will not coach in Boston again.
  
• The ESPN pre-season poll of the best players in the NBA shows the top four players are all foreign.  Steph Curry is the highest American-born player at #5.  4 is Joel Embiid (Cameroon), 3 is Luka Doncic of Slovenia, 2 is Nikola Jokic of Serbia, and #1 is Giannis Antetokounmpo of Greece. 
• Vegas screwed around again last night.  Pittsburgh tried for the Stanford-Cal down six, it ended up in their own endzone for a Browns touchdown.  The Over of 40.5 then covered, and at least one bettor lost a parlay on the game for $7,000.
  

Quick baseball:

• Yankees magic number in the AL East is 4.
• Astros magic number for the best record in the AL is 6.
• Dodgers magic number for the best record in the NL is 2 with Cobb County and 3 with the Mets.
• Cardinals magic number for the NL Central is 5.
• Guardians magic number in the AL Central is 6.
  
• Dodgers (who face the Cardinals this weekend in LA) are 5.5 up on Houston for best record in baseball.
• NL wildcard:  Padres are 3 up and Phillies 2.5 up on Milwaukee. Giants elimination Tragic number is 3.
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