Last Place Update - December 24

Merry Christmas everybody! It appears the 4-10 San Diego Chargers wanted something other than the beer in the Cellar when they beat the 5-9 Miami Dolphins. Henceforth (at least this week), this week's Kings of the Cellar are the 3-11 Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns. Why? As the great John Blutarski once said, "Why not?" The Titans have only one division and home win and Cleveland is...well,...just Cleveland.

Move over Dirty Birds. You're out as this week's honorable mention. That distinction now goes to the 6-8 Indianapolis Colts. Why? Because they're sporting a three game losing streak after sporting a three game winning streak after sporting a three game losing streak, while sporting...well, you get the picture. What's worse, they scored over 30 points only once this season and that was in week 3. This week, Indy visits the Miami Dolphins. Will this begin another win streak?

Next losses...

Tennessee hosts the division rival 7-7 Houston Texans. The Titans lead the series 15-12, but are 5-10 against Houston since 2008. Indy hasn't swept a season series against the Titans since 2007 and it won't happen this year either. They first met in 2002, when the Titans won 17-10. They never played against each other in the postseason, but did go to overtime twice. That series is tied 1-1. The last OT have happened in 2013 when the Texans won 30-24. There is only one shutout in the series. In 2010, Tennessee got blanked 20-0.

Cleveland will invade Arrowhead Stadium to take on the 9-5 Kansas City Chiefs. The series is tied 11-11-2. They first met after the NFL/AFL merger in 1971, when Len Dawson and the Chiefs won 13-7. They never met in the postseason, but went to overtime twice. The Chiefs won the last one in 2006, 31-28, but their first overtime game ended in a 10-10 tie in 1989, which was their last tie. Again, there is only one shutout in the series, After the 1989 tie, Kansas City spanked Cleveland in 1990, 34-0.

Here are a few historical scores for teams playing each other this week, on December 24,

2006  Carolina 10 - Atlanta 3
2006  Baltimore 31 - Pittsburgh 7
2006  Denver 24 - Cincinnati 23

On a different note, my ebook, Rickshaw, New Mexico will be free for the Kindle through Christmas weekend. If you haven't already, click the link, download your copy, and tell a friend.

Now to the burning questions of the week.

Will Tennessee wrest control of the Cellar from Cleveland? Will Cleveland win another game? Will Indy break the streaks of 3 and hold on to the honorable mention?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - December 16

So much for the crowd thinning out. Once again, there's a three-way tie and this week, the 3-10 San Diego Chargers are Kings of the Cellar. It's true that the 3-10 Cleveland Browns and 3-10 Tennessee Titans deserve a seat in the Cellar, but the Chargers earned the title this week, because they have no division wins. That and they're 1-8 since October 4. Had the Browns lost last week, they would be in sole possession of last place. Oh well.

Okay Dirty Birds, break time's over. That's right. The 6-7 Atlanta Falcons rose up and are once again this week's honorable mention. They snatched the mention from the 8-5 Minnesota Vikings by getting shut out 38-0 by the 13-0 Carolina Panthers, Carolina's first ever shutout victory over the Dirty Birds. It's the first time Atlanta has been shut out since 2004, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers spanked them 27-0. The last time Atlanta was shut out 38-0 was in 1987 by HOFer Rickey Jackson, HOF nominee Sam Mills (who should be in the Hall of Fame) and the New Orleans Saints.

Next loss...

The San Diego Chargers will host the 5-8 Miami Dolphins on Sunday. Miami leads the series 16-14 and are 2-9 against the Dolphins since 1995. They first met in 1966, back in the AFL, when the Chargers spanked Miami 44-10. Every postseason game these two teams played in was in the divisional round. Their last playoff game was in the 1994 season, when San Diego won 22-21 and went on to lose Super Bowl XXIX. That series is tied 2-2. They went to overtime three times and the Chargers won every one. They last time the two teams went to overtime was in 1984, a 34-28 Chargers win. The last time Miami shut out San Diego was 37-0 in 2014. The last time San Diego shut out Miami was 24-0 in 1967.

Here are some historical scores for games being played this week, from December 16,

1962  St. Louis Cardinals 45 - Philadelphia 35
1978  Pittsburgh 21 - Denver 7
2002  Tennessee 24 - New England 7
2012  Houston 29 - Indianapolis 17

Will San Diego hold on to their place in the Cellar? Will Atlanta rise up and lose the rest of their games? Will Cleveland even score against Seattle?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - December 9

The crowd has thinned this week, because we have only one team by the beer. That's right. The 2-10 Cleveland Browns are this week's Kings of the Cellar, kicking out the 3-9 Tennessee Titans over their shootout win over the 4-8 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans finally got their first home, division, and conference win of the season. However, breathing down Cleveland's necks are the Titans and the 3-9 San Diego Chargers, so the Brownies had better be vigilant if they want the first pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.

The 6-6 Atlanta Falcons get a break this week, so the honorable mention goes to the 4-8 St. Louis Rams. The Rams are losers of five straight and lost their last two games by a score of 58-10. Their last two wins came against teams with losing records as does this week's opponent, the 4-8 Detroit Lions. Can St. Louis bring back The Greatest Show On Turf this week?

Next loss...

Cleveland will host the 4-8 San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. Believe it or not, the Browns lead the series 11-7 and are 3-1 against the Niners since 1993. Then again, there was that hiatus when the original Browns moved to Baltimore, but that's another story for another day. They first met in the AAFL in 1946, when the 49ers won 34-20. They never met in overtime, but they did meet in the postseason. In 1949, the Browns won the final All-American Football League championship over the Niners 21-7. The last time Cleveland shut out San Francisco was 7-0 in 1974. San Francisco has never shut out Cleveland.

Here are some historical scores for teams playing each other this week, December 9,

1951  Detroit 24 - Los Angeles Rams 22
1990  Washington 10 - Chicago 9
2012  Carolina 30 - Atlanta 20

Okay, since there are only three, here some more historical scores from December 10,

1961  Houston Oilers 48 - New York Titans 21
1977  Cincinnati 17 - Pittsburgh 10
1995  Indianapolis 41 - Jacksonville 31
2006  Jacksonville 44 - Indianapolis 17
2012  New England 42 - Houston 14

Much better.

Will Cleveland provide the 49ers with their first ever shutout of the Browns? Will the Titans and Chargers barge into the Cellar? Will Atlanta lose again to be next week's honorable mention?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - December 2

Okay, it's a little tight, but there's enough room. This week, we'll honor two teams. The 2-9 Cleveland Browns and 2-9 Tennessee Titans are this week's Kings of the Cellar. Cleveland is sporting a six game losing streak, while the Titans haven't won any home, division, or conference games. That and they're on a three game skid. Neither team should get comfortable, because the 3-8 Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers are a game back.

This week's honorable mention goes once again to the 6-5 Atlanta Falcons. Once again, the Dirty Birds rose up and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. Now Atlanta is 1-5 since losing to my Saints. Can they beat an improving Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

Next loss...

Cleveland will host the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. The Browns trail the series 39-45 and are 7-16 since 2004. They first met in 1970 when Cleveland won 30-27. Paul Brown's Bengals won their second ever meeting and he called it the greatest win of his career. They never played each other in the postseason, but they did go to overtime four times. The overtime series is tied 2-2, with their last OT game being a 23-20 Cleveland loss in 2009. The last time Cincinnati shut out Cleveland was 30-0 last season. In fact, the Bengals shut out the Brownies 30-0 before, in 2006, and 14-0 in 2008. The last time Cleveland shut out Cincinnati was 18-0 in 2001.

Tennessee will go for their first win at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Titans lead the series 23-19 and are 8-7 against the Jags since 2008. They first met in 1995 when the then Houston Oilers won 10-3. They met only once in the posteason. In the 1999 AFC Championship game, the Titans went on to Super Bowl XXXIV with a 33-14 victory. They never went to overtime nor has either team ever shut out the other.

Here are some historic scores from teams playing each other this week, December 2,

1945  Detroit 14 - Green Bay 3
1984  New York Giants 20 - New York Jets 10
1984  Cincinnati 20 - Cleveland 17 (OT)
1990  Atlanta 23 - Tampa Bay 17
2001  New Orleans 27 - Carolina 23
2001  Dallas 20 - Washington 14

Who will break the tie to take the Cellar? Will the Dirty Birds win another game? Will Dallas remain winless without Tony Romo at quarterback?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - November 24

It's getting a little crowded in the Cellar. However, there can only be one this week. The 2-8 Cleveland Browns get the boot in favor of this week's Kings of the Cellar, the 2-8 San Diego Chargers. Although the 2-8 Tennessee Titans have no division, conference, or home wins, the Chargers have something the other two 2-8 teams don't have: a six game losing streak. Cleveland is right behind San Diego with a five game losing skid, but it's not enough to take the Cellar.

This week's honorable mention goes to the Dirty Birds themselves, the 6-4 Atlanta Falcons. After going 5-0, the Falcons went 1-4 and will host an improved Minnesota Vikings this week. NFL analysts say the Matt Ryan has regressed in recent weeks. Let's see which Matty Ice shows up this week.

Next loss...

San Diego will host the 4-6 Jacksonville Jaguars. The Chargers lead the series 5-2 and are on a four game winning streak against Jacksonville. They first met in 2003, when the Jags won 27-21. They have never gone to overtime nor have they played each other in the postseason. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Here are some historical scores for teams playing each other this week from November 24,

1940  New York Giants 21 - Washington 7
1974  New York Jets 17 - Miami 14
1986  Miami 45 - New York Jets 3
2013  Tennessee 23 - Oakland 19
2013  New England 34 - Denver 31 (OT)

Will San Diego hold on to the Cellar? Will Cleveland or Tennessee make a move? Will the Dirty Birds continue their collapse by letting Adrian Peterson run all over them?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - November 17

Meet the new Kings of the Cellar; definitely not the same as the old Kings, thanks to the 2-7 Detroit Lions' win over the Green Bay Packers. This week's Kings of the Cellar are the 2-8 Cleveland Browns. The Browns are enjoying a 5 game losing streak and been scored on by 30 or more points over the last three games. Five teams are a half game back, including the division rival 2-7 Baltimore Ravens and evicted Kings of the Cellar 2-7 Detroit Lions.

This week's honorable mention goes to the 4-6 New Orleans Saints defense. Over the past three games, the sieve of a defense allowed 1,425 yards, 526 of them came courtesy of the 5-5 Washington Redskins, hence costing defensive coordinator Rob Ryan his job. Remember, the Saints passed over Super Bowl winning defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel for Ryan. New Orleans has an bye this week, so maybe the defense will show some improvement.

Next loss...

The team named after legendary coach Paul Brown has a bye this week, so the 2-7 former Houston Oilers go to sunny Florida to take on the 3-6 Jacksonville Jaguars in a divisional matchup. The now Tennessee Titans lead the series 23-18, but the Titans are 8-6 against Jacksonville since 2008. They first met in Jacksonville's inaugural season of 1995, when the Oilers won 10-3. There are no overtime or postseason games in the series. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Here are some historical scores for teams playing each other this week, November 17,

1974  Green Bay 19 - Minnesota 7
1974  Baltimore Colts 17 - Atlanta 7
1991  Minnesota 35 - Green Bay 21
2002  Minnesota 31 - Green Bay 21

Will Cleveland's off week cost them them their spot in the Cellar? Will the 2-7 Dallas Cowboys win now that Tony Romo is back? Will the Baltimore continue to collapse their way to the Cellar?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - November 11

Before we get started, I have a message for all of you who served or are serving our country. THANK YOU!!!!! Thank you for your service and sacrifice. You are most definitely appreciated. Now let's have some fun.

This week's Kings of the Cellar did not lose last week. Then again, they didn't play either. Hence, the 1-7 Detroit Lions hold on to the Cellar for one more week. The 2-6 Tennessee Titans had a chance to kick out the Lions, but their overtime win over my New Orleans Saints ruined that opportunity. The 2-7 San Diego Chargers and Cleveland Browns round out the bottom three. Cleveland is sporting a four game losing streak, but San Diego does one better by losing their last five games.

Today's honorable mention goes once again to the 2-6 Dallas Cowboys, losers of their last six. Say what you want about QB Tony Romo, but the Cowpokes are not the same team without him. This week, Dallas visits the New Sombrero to take on the 3-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Unless the former America's Team can play 60 minutes of good football, Jameis Winston and the Bucs will notch win #4.

Next loss...

In a rivalry that goes back to the Great Depression, the former Portsmouth Spartans will travel to the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. The now Detroit Lions trail the series 67-97-7 and are 7-25 against the Packers since 1999. They first met in 1930, when Green Bay spanked the former Spartans 47-13. The teams met in the postseason twice and the Packers lead that series 2-0. Both games were in the Wild Card round in 1993 and 1994. They went to overtime four times and the series is tied 2-2. The last overtime game was a 16-13 Detroit loss in 2005. The last time Green Bay shut out Detroit was 26-0 in 2009. The last time Detroit shut out Green Bay was 34-0 in 1973. Their last tie was 13-13, also in 1973.

Here are some historic scores from games played today, November 11,

1979  Chicago 27 - Los Angeles Rams 23
1979  Buffalo 14 - New York Jets 12
1984  Miami 24 - Philadelphia 23
1984  Los Angeles Rams 29 - Chicago 13
2001  Pittsburgh 15 - Cleveland 12 (OT)
2007  Denver 27 - Kansas City 11
2007  Pittsburgh 31 - Cleveland 28

Will Detroit hold on to the Cellar? Will the Browns and Chargers continue their collapse and take the Cellar? Will Dallas ever get a win without Tony Romo this season?

Stay tuned...

Have a great day!!!!

Last Place Update - November 4

The Cellar giveth and The Cellar taketh away. Thanks to their 29-26 victory over the 2-6 San Diego Chargers, the 2-6 Baltimore Ravens got evicted from the cellar. And this week, to paraphrase the old The Who song, meet the new Kings of the Cellar; same as the old Kings of the Cellar. Who's that? It's the 1-7 Detroit Lions! They are sporting a two game losing streak by the combined score of 73-29. The 1-6 Tennessee Titans trail the Lions by a half game and are a six game losing streak and have scored more than 7 points in each of the last two games.

This week's honorable mention goes to the 2-6 Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are 0-5 since Tony Romo went down. However, none of those losses were blowouts and the last four were by a touchdown or less. Nevertheless, as Stephen A. Smith would say, Dallas always finds a way to lose.

Next loss...

Since Detroit has a bye this week, we'll focus on the next team up. The former Houston Oilers will invade the former Louisiana Superdome to face the New Orleans Saints. The now Tennessee Titans lead the series 7-5-1 and are 4-1 against the New Orleans since 1996. They first met after the NFL/AFL merger in 1971, when the two teams broke even at 13-13, the lone tie in the series. The Titans and Saints never had an overtime game nor have they met in the postseason. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Here are a couple of historic scores for teams playing each other this week from November 4,

2007  Atlanta 20 - San Francisco 16
2007  Dallas 38 - Philadelphia 17

Since there are only two scores from today, here are some scores from tomorrow, November 5,

1961  Los Angeles Rams 31 - Minnesota 17 (First ever meeting)
1967  Buffalo 35 - Miami 13
1972  Miami 30 - Buffalo 16
1978  Atlanta 21 - San Francisco 10
1989  Minnesota 23 - Los Angeles Rams 21 (OT)
2000  Philadelphia 16 - Dallas 13 (OT)


Will new head coach and former Minnesota Vikings/Pittsburgh Steelers TE Mike Mularkey lead the struggling Titans over former Chicago Bears QB Sean Payton and the improving Saints? Will Detroit lose, even with a bye this week? Will the Cowboys sweep the season series over the 3-4 Philadelphia Eagles?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - October 28

And now the herd begins to thin. For the second week in a row, we have a new team in the Cellar. That's right. The 2-5 Kansas City Chiefs won themselves away from the beer and now, the 1-6 Baltimore Ravens are this week's Kings of the Cellar. They beat out fellow the 1-6 Detroit Lions, because the Ravens are enjoying their second three game losing streak of the season.

This week's honorable mention goes to the 2-5 San Diego Chargers. Yeah, the 2-5 Dallas Cowboys should have gotten the mention because of their four game losing streak, but after further review, the ruling has been changed. The Chargers had their star players on the field, yet they still went on a three game losing streak and lost five of their last six games.

Next loss...

Baltimore may catch a break this week, because they will host this week's honorable mention, the former Los Angeles Chargers. The series is tied 5-5. They first met in 1997, when the Chargers won 21-17. They only went to overtime once, in 2012, when the Ravens eked out a 16-13 win. San Diego and Baltimore never met in the postseason and neither team has ever shut out the other.

Haven't done this yet this season, so here we go. Here are the historic scores for teams playing each other this week from October 28,

1951  San Francisco 44 - Los Angeles Rams 17
1960  Oakland 28 - New York Titans 27
1962  Los Angeles Rams 28 - San Francisco 14
1973  Miami 30 - New England 14
1973  Pittsburgh 20 - Cincinnati 13
1979  Cleveland 38 - St. Louis Cardinals 20
1984  Chicago 16 - Minnesota 7
1984  San Francisco 33 - Los Angeles Rams 0
1996  Chicago 15 - Minnesota 13
2007 Pittsburgh 24 - Cincinnati 13
2007 Indianapolis 31 - Carolina 7


Will the Ravens hold on to the beer in the cellar? Will Detroit kick Baltimore out and take over? Will the Chargers continue their epic collapse and secure the first pick in the 2016 draft?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - October 21

Well, it's about time. It took an overtime game to do it, but the 1-5 Detroit Lions got their first win and their eviction from the throne. Another 1-5 team has taken over. The Kansas City Chiefs are this week's King's of the Cellar. Why? Because of the four 1-5 teams, the Chiefs are the only team enjoying a five game losing streak. Along with the Lions, the other 1-5 teams are the Jacksonville Jaguars and, surprisingly, the Baltimore Ravens. The fight for the beer in the cellar is on.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 5-1 Atlanta Falcons. They blew an opportunity to dominate a New Orleans Saints team with one of the worst defenses in the NFL and kept coughing up the football in the red zone, resulting in a 31-21 loss. What's worse for the Dirty Birds, they created another Steve Gleason moment with Michael Mauti's punt block. Michael Mauti is the son of former Saint WR Rich Mauti, who played for the black & gold from 1977-83.

Next loss...

The former Dallas Texans will host the former Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow night. The now Kansas City Chiefs trail the series 10-20-0 and have lost the last three meetings. They first met in 1970 and the defending Super Bowl IV champs made short work of the now Pittsburgh Steelers 31-14. They went to overtime three times and Kansas City leads the OT series 2-1. Their lone postseason game occurred in the 1993 season, which also happened to be the first overtime game in the series. Joe Montana and the Chiefs won 27-24. There is only one shutout in the series. In 1976, Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers rolled over Kansas City 45-0.

Will the Chiefs get any time to enjoy the beer in the cellar? Will one of the other 1 win teams knock Kansas City out and take over? Can Detroit win two in a row?

Stay tuned...

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - October 13

Can't quite say they're dominating, but the way the 0-4 Detroit Lions got spanked Sunday, they secured their place as this week's Kings of the Cellar. There are now eight 1 win teams, so we have to wait another week for runners-up. However, my 1-4 New Orleans Saints, fresh off their overtime win over Dallas, got rolled over by a 2-3 Philadelphia Eagles team in a game that should have been much closer.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 2-3 Dallas Cowboys. After losing in overtime to the Saints, the Cowboys went home to lose to the New England Patriots. Since Tony Romo and Dez Bryant went down to injury, Dallas is 0-3 and has been outscored 95-54.

Next loss...

The former Portsmouth Spartans will host the 2-3 Chicago Bears at Ford Field. Yes, the once 0-3 Bears are sporting a two game winning streak. Chicago leads the series 96-69-5, but the Lions have won the last four games. They first met in 1930, when Portsmouth won 7-6. They went to overtime four times. The Bears lead the overtime series 4-1, including the overtime kickoff return on Thanksgiving Day in 1980. Believe it or not, they have never met in the postseason. Their last tie happened in 1966, when the game ended 10-10. The last time Chicago shut out Detroit was 24-0 in 2001. The last time Detroit shut out Chicago was 20-0 in 1979.

Here's a bonus next loss. The New Orleans Saints will welcome hated archrival 5-0 Atlanta Falcons. New Orleans trails in the series 43-49 and were swept last season. However, the Saints lead the series in the Sean Payton era 13-5, but they are expected to lose their third straight to Atlanta. They first met in 1967, when New Orleans won 27-24. They went to overtime seven times and the Saints also trail that series 2-5, including the first one. On opening day in 1979, when on fourth down, Jim Pietrzak hiked the ball way over punter Russel Erxleben's head. Erxleben chased the ball to the two yard line and tried to pass the ball. Unfortunately, it floated only a few yards and landed in James Mayberry's hands, who ran it in for the winning touchdown. The Falcons won that game 40-34. They met once in the postseason in 1991, when the Falcons won 27-20. The last time New Orleans shut out Atlanta was 38-0 in 1987. The last time Atlanta shut out New Orleans was 35-0 in 1982.

Will Detroit lose again? Will they go 0-16 again? Will the Who Dats hand the Dirty Birds their first loss?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

And some lagniappe. Here is the overtime kickoff return from 1980 and the interview afterward. 

Last Place Update - October 8

As one regular season ends, another gets into full swing. It's time to see who gets the beer in the cellar for the 2015 NFL season, so let's have some fun.

By default, today's Kings of the Cellar are the 0-4 Detroit Lions. They are the sole remaining winless team, but should be 1-3 with the team they lost to, the now 2-2 Seattle Seahawks. However, that uncalled penalty means nothing today. There are 11 teams at 1-3, so no runners-up today. The Lions are sporting a six game losing streak dating back to December 28.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 1-3 San Francisco 49ers and 1-3 Kansas City Chiefs. Both teams won on opening day and haven't won since. The Niners are 2-7 since November 27 and the Chiefs are 3-7 since November 20. Another mention goes to my 1-3 New Orleans Saints, because their sole win came against a Cowboys team without Tony Romo and Dez Bryant. A game New Orleans should have easily won, it took a blown coverage in overtime for my Saints to get their first win of the season. New Orleans is 4-8 since November 9 and 1-6 at home since October 26.

Tonight, the 1-3 Houston Texans host the 2-2 Indianapolis Colts. Indy leads the series 22-4 and have won the last five games against the Texans. Houston hasn't beaten the Colts since 2012. They first met in 2002, then the Colts rolled 23-3. There are no ties in the series nor have the two teams met in the postseason. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

Next Loss...

The former Portsmouth Spartans host the former Chicago Cardinals on Sunday. The now Detroit Lions lead the series 31-27-5, but the once former Phoenix Cardinals won the last six meetings. They first met in 1930, a game that ended in a 0-0 tie between Chicago and Portsmouth. Their lone overtime game happened in 2002, when now Arizona won 23-20. They never met in the postseason. The last time the Lions shut out the Cardinals was when Detroit blanked the then St. Louis Cardinals 20-0 in 1969. The last time the Cardinals shut out the Lions was in 1942, when the Chicago Cardinals won 7-0.

Will Detroit find more controversial ways to lose? Will one of the 1-3 teams lay a huge egg this weekend? Will one of the undefeated teams post a loss?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - October 6

Finally, we have a winner. Congrats to the 2015 MLB Kings of the Cellar Champion, the 63-99 Philadelphia Phillies! They beat Cellar tease, 64-98 Cincinnati Reds by a game. The Phillies went 2-2 since the last update, while Cincy broke their 13 game losing streak by going 1-3, just enough to get denied their share of the beer.

As much fun as we have with the updates, it's important to remember that the Last Place Updates are a tongue-in-cheek look at teams with the worst records in the featured sports on this blog. However, only a tiny percent of the population is good enough to even be a professional athlete. It's also important to remember and appreciate that it takes that special kind of athlete to earn the privilege to play for a professional sports team, whether it's for only a few games or a long Hall of Fame career. The rest of us can only dream of the life these people live, regardless of how good or bad their team is.

Hats off to Major League Baseball for another good regular season. Bring on the playoffs!!!

Last Place Update - October 1

Oh, now they start winning. No matter. I was ready to crown the 2016 MLB Kings of the Cellar, but a team I thought was out of contention is now making its run for the beer. At least the race in futility is more interesting.

The 61-97 Philadelphia Phillies are still three losses from the title. They are 4-2 since the last update and are on a three game winning streak. The Phillies are two games ahead of once again cellar tease, the 63-95 Cincinnati Reds. Cincy is 0-7 since the last update and is sporting an 11 game losing streak. Also still not out of it are my 64-94 Atlanta Braves, though they're two losses from being out of contention. The Braves are 2-3 since the last update, breaking their three game losing streak.

The 66-93 Oakland A's are officially king's of the AL cellar, but they are out of contention for the beer in the Cellar. Oakland is 2-5 since the last update and can now kick back and enjoy the last few games of the season. Today's honorable mention goes to the 88-70 Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers are 3-7 in their last ten games and 3-9 since September 19.

This evening, the former Brooklyn Superbas will visit AT&T Park to take on the former New York Giants. The now San Francisco Giants lead the series 1,221-1,191. They first met on May 3, 1890, when the also former Brooklyn Bridegrooms beat the Giants 7-3. The most runs the Giants scored against the also then Brooklyn Dodgers was a 26-8 beatdown on April 30, 1944. The most runs the now Los Angeles Dodgers scored against the Giants was a 21-8 spanking by the also former Brooklyn Grooms on August 6, 1894. The longest game in the series happened on September 4, 1943, when at the bottom of the 17th inning, Howie Schultz hit in Luis Olmos to get the then Brooklyn Dodgers the win, 4-3.

Will Philly finally take the beer in the Cellar? Will Cellar tease Cincy complete its collapse to kick the Phillies out? Will my Braves surprise everybody for the win?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - September 24

Is it too early to start a countdown? Nah. The 57-95 Philadelphia Phillies are making their move to become the 2015 MLB Kings of the Cellar and are 4.5 games ahead of my 62-91 Atlanta Braves. Philly is six losses away from clinching the championship. That means the defending Kings of the Cellar champion 73-79 Arizona Diamondbacks are officially eliminated from contention. The 63-89 Colorado Rockies and former cellar tease, 63-88 Cincinnati Reds, are in a battle for third place. The Reds are no longer a tease, because they are out of contention for the beer in the cellar.

Since the last update, the Phillies went 1-4 and just broke a six game losing streak. My Braves went a respectable 5-2, sweeping Philly and are on a two game winning streak. Sporting a pair of four game losing streaks, the Reds and Rockies are in a slugfest...or is it a whiff-fest? Both teams went 2-4 since the last update. This is by far the most interesting race for futility.

The 64-88 Oakland A's continue to be the AL's worst team. As with Colorado and Cincy, the A's are 2-4 since the last update, and yes, losers of their last four games. Today's honorable mention goes to the former three-peat Kings of the Cellar champion, the 80-73 Houston Astros, because I didn't want to give it to the 88-63 Kansas City Royals for the third consecutive week. Besides, the Royals have done just enough winning to get eliminated for the mention this week. Houston is 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two.

The former Washington Senators host the former Cleveland Blues. The also former Cleveland Naps lead the series 1,115-977, but the now Minnesota Twins are 8-5 so far this season. They first met on May 22, 1901, when the former Blues won 6-5. The most runs Minnesota scored against the now Indians was a 23-2 spanking on June 4, 2002. The most runs Cleveland scored against the Twins was on August 7, 1923, when the Indians rolled over the then Washington Senators 22-2. Their longest game in the series happened on August 31, 1993, when in the bottom of the 22nd inning, Pedro Munoz hit a leadoff homerun and led Minnesota to a 5-4 victory.

Will Philly clinch the Kings of the Cellar Championship this week? Will my Braves collapse and pull off a stunning upset? Will Oakland clinch their place as the AL's worst team of the 2015 season?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - September 17

A game and a half, two games ahead, what's the diff? No matter how hard other teams try, no one can be Kings of the Cellar this season like the 56-91 Philadelphia Phillies can. They lead my 57-89 Atlanta Braves by a game and a half. The 61-85 Colorado Rockies bring up the rear at 5.5 games back, making it a two team race right now. The 62-84 Oakland A's remain the AL's worst team, going 2-3 since the last update and 4-6 in their last ten games.

Speaking of, Philly is a semi-respectable 2-3 since the last update and is sporting a three game losing streak. My Braves are a hard charging 1-5 since the last update and had a four game losing streak during that stretch. The new Cellar tease, the 61-84 Cincinnati Reds, is hanging around the Cellar door at six games back. The Reds are 3-3 since the last update and, once again, are 5-5 in the last ten games. Former Cellar tease, the 63-83 Miami Marlins, have moved on. They are 7-3 in their last ten games, winners of their last two.

Today's honorable mention goes once again to the 85-60 Kansas City Royals. They are 3-3 since the last update and 3-9 since September 4. The defending Kings of the Cellar champion 69-77 Arizona Diamondbacks are three losses away from being out of contention for a repeat. They are 1-3 since the last update and are currently 13.5 games behind the Phillies.

This evening, the former Florida Marlins go to DC to take on the former Montreal Expos. The Marlins lead the series 197-172 and are 8-7 this season against the now Nationals. They first met on May 11, 1993, when the Expos won 6-4. The most runs Miami ever scored on Washington was on July 5, 2006, in an 18-9 beating of the Marlins. The most runs the Nationals scored on Miami was on July 22, 2000. when then Florida beat the then Expos with a football score of 17-7. Their longest game went to 14 innings twice. On September 17, 2002, a four run 14th inning propelled then Montreal over the Marlins 8-5. On April 20, 2007, an RBI single by Chris Snelling gave the Nationals their win in 14 innings 6-5.

Will Philly finally take the beer in the Cellar? Will the Diamondbacks be eliminated from Kings of the Cellar contention by Saturday? Will my Braves take the Cellar? Will Cincy continue to be a tease?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Some NCAA Series Trivia

Hadn't posted two blog entries in one day in a while. Let's have fun with some AP Top 10 college football. Since several of the teams are playing for the first time, more games will be featured.

The #1 Ohio State Buckeyes host the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. This is their first ever meeting.

The Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders visit the #2 Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama leads the series 2-0. The Tide rolled 39-34 in 2002 and 26-7 in 2005.

Stephen F. Austin visit #3 TCU. This is the first ever game between the Lumberjacks and Horned Frogs.

The #4 Baylor Bears host the Lamar Cardinals. This is their first ever meeting.

It's the game of the week! The #7 Oregon Ducks invade East Lansing to take on the #5 Michigan State Spartans.  Oregon leads the series 3-2. They first met in 1979 when Michigan State manhandled the Ducks 41-17. Believe it or not, these two teams never played each other in the Rose Bowl. They have only met in September. Each of Oregon's wins over the Spartans was by 35 points or more, including last year's 46-27 win. Neither team has ever shut out the other.

The Jacksonville State Gamecocks go to #6 Auburn to take on the Tigers. Auburn should win this first ever game between the two teams, but the Jacksonville State band has a good chance to outplay the Auburn band.

Idaho invades the L.A. Coliseum to try to vandalize the #8 USC Trojans. USC leads the series 8-0. All but one of the games were played in the 1920's. They first met in 1920, when Trojans shut out Idaho 14-0. The question to ask is when did USC not shut out the Vandals? The answer is only four games. The most Idaho scored in the series was a 38-10 loss in 2010. They never went to overtime nor did they ever meet in a bowl game.

The #9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish take on the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlottesville. There has only been one other game in the series. Notre Dame rolled over the Cavs 36-13 in 1989.

RB Nick Chubb and the #10 Georgia Bulldogs run their way to Nashville to take on the Vanderbilt Commodores. Georgia leads the series 55-19-2. They first met in 1893, when Vandy rolled over the Bulldogs 35-10. They never met in the postseason. The most Georgia scored against Vanderbilt was 62-35 in 1984. The most the Commodores scored against the Bulldogs was 46-0 in 1912. The last tie happened after that shootout. The teams played to a 13-13 tie in 1985. The last time Georgia shut out Vanderbilt was 43-10 in 2010. The last time Vanderbilt shut out Georgia was 21-0 in 1961.

The #14 LSU Tigers invade Stark-Vegas to avenge last season's loss against the #25 Mississippi State Bulldogs. LSU leads the series 69-36-3. They first met in 1896, when LSU nailed the Bulldogs 52-0. Since they are SEC West foes, they haven't nor will they meet in the postseason. The most Mississippi State scored against LSU was a 55-31 win in 1980. The most the Tigers scored against the Bulldogs was 61-6 mauling in 1969. Mississippi State last shut out LSU 25-0 in 1954. The last time LSU shut out Mississippi State was 45-0 in 2007.

The #23 Tennessee Volunteers host the #19 Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma leads the series 2-1. They first met in the 1938 Orange Bowl, when the Vols notched their only win and only shutout in the series, 17-0. They faced each other again in the 1967 Orange Bowl and the Sooners edged Tennessee 26-24. Oklahoma won their last meeting in 2014, 24-10.

The #20 Boise State Broncos visit the BYU Cougars. The Broncos lead the series 4-1. They first met in 2003, when Boise State rolled to victory 50-12. BYU's only win came in 2013, 37-20. They never met in the postseason and neither team has ever shut out the other.

The Michigan Wolverines host the Oregon State Beavers in Ann Arbor. This is the first time these two teams are playing each other since 1986. Michigan leads the series 4-0. They first met in 1959, when Michigan won 18-7. They met once in the 1964 Rose Bowl, a 34-7 Wolverine win. The only shutout in the series was a 41-0 Michigan spanking in 1966. The Wolverines easily won their last meeting 31-12.

Good luck to all the teams playing today!

Have a great day!!

Last Place Update - September 12

One of life's constants is change...except for today's Kings of the Cellar. The 54-88 Philadelphia Phillies have a two game lead over my 56-86 Atlanta Braves. Philly is 1-7 since the last update and is enjoying a three game losing streak. My Braves are hanging with the Phillies, going 2-7 since the last update and are 3-22 since August 17.

Bringing up the rear are the 58-81 Cincinnati Reds and 59-82 Colorado Rockies. Both teams are 5.5 games behind Philly. Since Miami has been doing some winning, Cincy replaced them as the Cellar tease. The Reds are 5-5 in their last ten games and just broke a two game losing streak. The Rockies have also been doing some winning, going 5-4 since the last update and are on a two game winning streak.

The 60-81 Oakland A's continue their reign as the AL's worst team. The A's are 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two. The defending Kings of the Cellar champion 68-73 Arizona Diamondbacks are 3-4 since the last update and are on a two game win streak. The Diamondbacks are 14.5 games behind the Phillies and remain no threat to repeat.Today's honorable mention goes to.83-57 Kansas City Royals. KC is 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last two.

The former Pittsburgh Alleghenys host the former Seattle Pilots this evening. The former Pilots lead the series against the now Pittsburgh Pirates 163-126 and the now Brewers are 10-7 against Pittsburgh this season. They first met in inter-league play in 1997, when the Brewers won 4-1. The most runs the Pirates scored against Milwaukee was a 17-10 win on August 24, 2002. The most runs the Brewers scored against Pittsburgh was a 20-0 spanking on April 22, 2010. Their longest game went to 14 innings three different times, with the last one occurring last season . On April 20, 2014 Milwaukee won 3-2, marking their only win in the three 14 inning games. Pittsburgh won the other two 2-1 (June 30, 2013) and 6-5 (April 28, 2010).

Will Philly hold on to the Cellar? Will the Rockies or my Braves kick them out? Will Cincy continue to be a tease or will Miami make a comeback?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - September 3

And the saga continues. The once dominating collapse of the season has turned into a real race.

The 53-81 Philadelphia Phillies continue their reign as this season's Kings of the Cellar, but now we have a new team at the door, my 54-79 Atlanta Braves. Philly is 3-5 since the last update, 1-3 in their last four games. The Braves are a game and a half back. They are 1-9 in their last ten games, losers of their last 8. Atlanta is also 1-15 since August 16, including a three game sweep by Cellar tease Miami Marlins. The 55-79 Marlins are two games behind the Phillies and are in a virtual tie with the 54-78 Colorado Rockies, also two games back. Miami is 4-4 since the last update, including said sweep. The Rockies are also 4-4 since the last update.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 69-64 San Francisco Giants. They are 3-7 in their last ten games, losers of their last five. The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion, 65-69 Arizona Diamondbacks, are 3-6 since the last update and 3-8 since August 24. Arizona is 12 games behind the Phillies. You never know.

The former Washington Senators host the Chicago White Sox in an early game. They White Sox lead the series 1,118-1037, but are 4-11 against the now Minnesota Twins this season. They first met on June 2, 1901, when the Senators won 7-5. The went to 18 innings twice in their history. On May 15, 1918, Hall of Famer Walter Johnson pitched a complete game as the Senators won 1-0. LP Lefty Williams also pitched a complete game. Times were different back then. The second time was on June 8, 1947, another 1-0 win by the former Washington Senators. Both teams were battling for the AL cellar during that game. Each team has scored 20 runs on the other twice. Chicago did it to the former Washington Senators in a 20-6 win on May 11, 1911. The second time was a 20-2 spanking on June 17, 1956. The Twins did it in recent years. On July 6, 2007, Minnesota won a 20-14 game that looked more like a game between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears. The second time was on May 21, 2009, when the Twins nailed Chicago 20-1.

On a personal note, I'd like to wish my daughter, Lauren, a very happy birthday.

Can Philly hang on? Will my Braves take over the Cellar? Will the Marlins continue to be a tease?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Kings of the Cellar - August 26

The race heats up. At the beginning of June, there was only one team in contention for the Kings of the Cellar Championship. Now there are three.

The 50-76 Philadelphia Phillies remain Kings of the Cellar. They are 4-3 since the last update, but lost the last two games. Hot on Philly's heels are the 50-74 Colorado Rockies, who trail by a game. They are 2-5 since the last update and just broke a four game losing streak. Also a game behind the Phillies are the 51-75, and Cellar tease, Miami Marlins. As with the Rockies, the Marlins are 2-5 since the last update and just broke a four game losing streak.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 62-63 Baltimore Orioles. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and are on a six game losing streak. The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion 62-63 Arizona Diamondbacks are 4-3 since the last update, losers of their last two games. The Diamondbacks are 12.5 games behind the Phillies, but the season isn't over yet.

The former Milwaukee Brewers...no, not those Milwaukee Brewers. Okay, let's use another version of this team. The former St. Louis Browns continue their series against the Kansas City Royals. At least the Royals is the only name this team has ever gone by. The now Baltimore Orioles lead the series 260-206, but have lost four straight to Kansas City dating back to last season. They first met on May 9, 1969, then the Royals notched their only victory against Baltimore until 1971, winning 4-2. The longest game went to 16 innings twice, first on May 28, 1979 (Royals won 5-4) and June 15, 1996 (Royals won 7-6). The most runs each team scored against the other was 15. Baltimore won 15-5 on May 9, 2003 and Kansas City did it twice. The Royals won 15-2 on August 16, 1992 and 15-5 on April 29, 1999. They only met in the playoffs once and that was the ALCS last year, when the Royals swept the O's 4-0.

Will Philly hang on to drink all of the beer in the Cellar? Will the Rockies fall far enough to evict the Phillies? Will Miami stop being such a tease?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - August 19

Oh Miami, you're such a tease. Just when you think the Marlins would take the cellar, as Lucy did with Charlie Brown, Miami pulled the football at the last second.

The 46-73 Philadelphia Phillies remain Kings of the Cellar. However, there is new competition on the scene. The 48-69 Colorado Rockies, with their 2-8 record in the past ten games, are only three games behind the Phillies. Philly is 4-6 in their last ten games, losers of their last four. The 52-69 Oakland A's have overtaken the 53-66 Boston Red Sox as the AL's worst team and enjoy a two game lead over the Red Sox. Oakland just snapped a seven game losing streak, but they still have to work to hold on to the title.

Today's honorable mention goes to former Kings of the Cellar champion, the 59-59 Washington Nationals. They're 3-7 in their last ten games and 5-13 since July 31. The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion 58-60 Arizona Diamondbacks are 12.5 games behind the Phillies and 8-9 in August. At this point, barring a collapse, Arizona is no threat to repeat.

So what happened to Miami? The 49-70 Marlins, on the cusp of restocking the cellar fridge with beer, did some winning and are now in a dead heat with the Rockies at three games back. No, it's not a monumental accomplishment, but then again, we're not talking about the race for the World Series. Miami is 6-4 in the last ten games, winners of four straight. They face the 51-70 Milwaukee Brewers and Philly this week, so that winning may continue. Or they may tease us again and lose.

The former Philadelphia Athletics host the former Brooklyn Atlantics today. That's what the Oakland A's and Los Angeles Dodgers were called in their first years of play. The A's lead the series 21-14, winners of their last three meetings. They first met in the 1974 World Series, when Oakland won 4-1. The next time was in 1988, when the Dodgers also won 4-1, featuring an injured Kirk Gibson's Game 1 game winning homerun. Their longest game went to 17 innings on June 17, 2006, when the A's won 6-5. The most runs Los Angeles scored on the A's was 7, in a 7-1 win on August 28, 1997 and an 11-7 loss on July 13, 2001. The most runs Oakland scored on the Dodgers was on June 11, 1999, a 12-6 victory.

Can Philly hang on in the cellar? Will the Rockies take over or will Miami stop being such a tease and get the job done?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - August 12

This is getting to be fun. What was a dominating performance is now a real competition. The current Kings of the Cellar, the 45-69 Philadelphia Phillies, is only half a game in front of the collapsing 45-68 Miami Marlins. The Phillies are on a two game losing streak, but Miami is keeping it interesting by going on a two game winning streak. The AL's worst team right now, the 50-63 Boston Red Sox are no threat to either team by being 5.5 games behind Philly.

Today's honorable mention goes to the New York Jets. Yeah, I know it's not baseball related, but how often does a 6th round draft pick from last season seal his fate by breaking the jaw of the starting quarterback? Geno Smith will be out for six to ten weeks. An honorable mention also goes to the New Orleans Saints' defensive staff for its personnel assignment woes during the Black & Gold scrimmage. If that continues, a 7-9 record may be the least of their worries.

Okay, die-hard baseball fans, today's honorable mention also goes out to two teams. The 61-50 New York Yankees and the 61-53 Houston Astros are sporting matching four game losing streaks. The Astros are 3-7 in their last ten games while the Yankees are 4-6 in their last ten.

The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion, the 56-56 Arizona Diamondbacks, host Philly tonight. The Phillies lead the series 64-57 and are 3-2 against Arizona this season. However, the Diamondbacks won the last two games. They first met on May 7, 1998 and the Phillies won 4-1. These two teams never met in the postseason. They went to extra innings 14 times, with Philly going 6-8. Speaking of extra innings, their longest game went to 18 innings on August 24, 2013. Arizona won that game 12-7. The most runs the Phillies scored on the Diamondbacks was on August 20, 2009, when they won in a rout 12-3. The most runs Arizona scored on Philly actually happened over the last two days. The Diamondbacks spanked the Phillies 13-3 on Monday and 13-1 yesterday.

Will Philly hang on to the beer in the cellar? Will Miami take over? Will Boston continue to stand outside the door as an also-ran?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Last Place Update - August 4

Ah, the game's afoot! The 41-65 Philadelphia Phillies' dominance of the beer in the cellar has almost disappeared. For now, the Phillies are still Kings of the Cellar. They lead the 43-63 Miami Marlins by two games and the 44-63 Milwaukee Brewers by 2.5 games. The 47-59 Boston Red Sox ended their rapid descent to the cellar and even allowed the 47-60 Oakland A's to reign as the AL's worst team right now.

Thanks to Philly's going 3-2 since the last update, the 1962 New York Met's record of futility is safe for another year.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 56-49 Los Angeles Angels. They are 2-8 in their last ten games and just broke a six game losing streak. However, their losing streak cost the Angels the lead in the AL West, which the former Kings of the Cellar Champion Houston Astro's now own.

The defending Kings of the Cellar Champions, the 51-53 Arizona Diamondbacks are treading water and appear to be no threat. They are 11 games behind the Phillies and are 7-3 in their last ten games.

Philly faces the NL West leader, Los Angeles Dodgers tonight. According to mcubed.net, the Phillies are 922-1,179 against the Dodgers, dating back to 1890, including a 1-3 record against them this season. They first met on April 28, 1890, when the Brooklyn Bridegrooms spanked the Phillies 10-0.

Will Philly hog all the beer in the cellar? Will Miami kick in the door and take over?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!

Kings of the Cellar - July 29

Hope your summer is going well. Sometimes a break is all a team needs, because when you think they get comfortable in the cellar, they surprise you.

Today's Kings of the Cellar, the 38-63 Philadelphia Phillies are doing some winning. However, they still have a 4.5 game lead over their next closest competitor, the 42-58 Miami Marlins. The 44-57 Boston Red Sox are the AL's worst, but they're six games behind Philly. The Red Sox are playing like they want the beer in the Cellar by going 2-8 in their last ten games and 3-12 since July 10. Unlike Boston, the Phillies are 9-1 in their last ten games, winners of their last five. The Marlins are 4-6 in their last ten games and are 7-12 since July 4.

Today's honorable mention goes to the past Kings of the Cellar champion, the 52-46 Washington Nationals. The NL East Division leaders are 3-7 in their last ten games and are 1-3 since July 23.

The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion 48-51 Arizona Diamondbacks are 11 games behind the Phillies and are enjoying a four game winning streak. At this time, they are no threat to repeat.

Because of Philly's winning streak, they are 12 games ahead of the 1962 New York Mets, who were 26-75 after 101 games. The Phillies need only three more wins to make the '62 Mets' record of futility safe for another year.

Philly visits the Toronto Blue Jays this evening. The Phillies trail the series 21-29, including yesterday's win. Philly is 1-8 against the Blue Jays since July 3, 2011. They first met in the 1993 World Series, when Toronto won 4 games to 2. They went to extra innings four times, with the Phillies losing all of them. They last went to extra innings in May 2014.

Will the Phillies continue their winning ways? Will Boston surprise everyone and take the cellar?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Kings of the Cellar - June 24

Welcome to the Cellar! It's cool in here on this hot summer day, so grab a beer and let's have some fun.

The 26-47 Philadelphia Phillies continue their reign as Kings of the Cellar, but they're only a half game ahead of the 26-46 Milwaukee Brewers. Both teams are fighting hard for the beer, with Philly going 2-3 since the last update and the Brew Crew going 2-4. Today's honorable mention goes to the 39-33 Los Angeles Dodgers. They're 3-7 in their last ten games and 1-4 in their last five.

The defending champion Kings of the Cellar, the 34-36 Arizona Diamondbacks are 3-3 since the last update and are 9.5 games behind Philly. At this time, they are no threat to repeat, but things could change.

After 73 games, the Phillies are six games behind the 1962 New York Mets, who were 20-53. Philly is a collapse away from catching up to the legendary Mets. For those of you who don't know, the team who came closest to breaking the Mets' record of futility since the 1962 season was the 2003 Detroit Tigers, who ended that season at 43-119. After 73 games, the 2003 Tigers were 18-55.

Philly visits the New York Yankees today. Believe it or not. the Phillies lead the series 14-12 and have won the last four meetings. Philly is 6-2 against the Yankees since 2009.

Does this mean Milwaukee will take the lead? Maybe. They face the Mets today. The Brewers trail the series 52-66 and are 2-2 against the Mets this season. Except for yesterday's game, none of them have been close.

Will Milwaukee kick Philly out and reclaim the cellar? Will Philly collapse and threaten the '62 Mets or '03 Tigers? Will the Diamondbacks try to make a return to the cellar?

Stay tuned.

Have a great day!!!

Kings of the Cellar - June 17

Congrats to the 2015 NBA Champion Golden State Warriors!! Job well done! And hats off to the Cleveland Cavaliers for putting up a good fight, even with their key injuries.

The 22-44 Philadelphia Phillies are the MLB Kings of the Cellar for now. They are 1-9 in their last ten games, 1-12 in their last 13, and are on an eight game losing streak. Philly passed and is now two games ahead of the previous leader, the 24-42 Milwaukee Brewers. Today's honorable mention goes to the 34-30 Minnesota Twins, who are 2-8 in their last ten games and are 4-11 since June 2. The defending Kings of the Cellar Champion 31-33 Arizona Diamondbacks are ten games behind the Phillies and currently pose no threat to repeat.

The good news for the Phillies is that the 1899 Cleveland Spiders 20-134 record is safe for another year. The bad news is, although not likely, the 1962 New York Mets record of futility of 40-120 is still withing Philly's reach. After 66 games, the Mets were 18-48. For those of you who haven't read the Kings of the Cellar entries for MLB, the key stat in threatening or breaking the losing records is the number of wins, because of the differing numbers of games in a season over the decades.

Today, Philadelphia faces the Baltimore Orioles. Philly trails in the series 22-28 and are 2-9 against Baltimore since 2006. The Phillies last beat the Orioles 9-6 on June 8, 2012.

Speaking of Kings of the Cellar, the three-peat (2011-13) Kings of the Cellar Champion Houston Astros are doing what the repeat (2008-09) Kings of the Cellar Champion Washington Nationals are doing...winning. The 38-28 Astros lead the AL West by two games over the Texas Rangers and have the fourth best record in the MLB. Way to go Astros!

Congrats to the 2015 NHL Champion Chicago Blackhawks!! I hope my friends and Phriends from the great state of Illinois enjoy this championship win to the fullest.

Finally, drum corps season starts tonight. Good luck to my alma mater drum and bugle corps, the Phantom Regiment (DCI) and AtlantaCV (DCA)!!! Also good luck to the Louisiana Stars (DCI) in their second season!!

Have a great day!!!

Some 2015 NFL Draft First Round Trivia

Wow, this took long enough to complete. By now, there's been a wealth of articles and blog posts with tons of analysis about the NFL Draft. Not here. You're getting a different take. This post focuses more on the selection number than the round number and what happened with those picks. For example, the17th pick is in the first round, but in 1959, it was in the second round. The players chosen with these picks, even if it's in lower rounds in earlier years, are mentioned here. Also, there are players from the 1960's selected in the NFL and AFL drafts. Both drafts are mentioned for those players.

So instead of figuring out if Winston/Mariotta are star level QB's or busts, let's see what history the picks in the first round show us...

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers - No surprise here. The Bucs picked Florida State QB Jameis Winston and even have him signed to a contract. This is the fifth time Tampa Bay had the first overall pick and it's been a hit or miss proposition. In their inaugural season of 1976, they picked Hall of Fame DE Lee Roy Selmon. Then again, in 1986, Tampa Bay picked Bo Jackson with the first pick and he didn't play a down with the team. The last quarterback they drafted with the first pic, 1987 first pick Vinny Testaverde, had a respectable career, but not with the Bucs. Winston is the first Florida State player the Bucs selected with the first overall pick and the first Seminole player ever drafted first.
2. Tennessee Titans - Again, no surprise. Tennessee drafted QB Marcus Mariotta from Oregon. This is the third time Tennessee/Houston had the second overall pick. They're 1-1 at this point. The Houston Oilers picked Baylor WR Larry Elkins with the second pick of the 1965 AFL draft. He was also the 10th overall pick by the Green Bay Packers. Opting for the AFL, Elkins only played for two seasons. However, they fared much better in 1984, drafting T Dean Steinkuhler of Nebraska. Mariotta is the first Oregon player Tennessee drafted with the second pick and as with Winston, he's the first Duck selected with the second pick.
3. Jacksonville Jaguars - Didn't they have the third pick last year? More on that in a bit. The Jags selected DE Dante Fowler, Jr. from Florida. This is only the second time the Jags had this pick. Last year, they drafted QB Blake Bortles. It's too early to gauge his career. Although this is the second time Jacksonville had this pick, this is the fourth time someone from Florida was selected here. Although the San Francisco 49ers picked Heisman winner and NFL bust Steve Spurrier with this pick in the 1966 draft, the other picks fared better. My New Orleans Saints picked WR Wes Chandler with this pick in 1978 and had a respectable career with multiple teams, as  DT Gerard Warren had when Cleveland picked him here in 2001.
4. Oakland Raiders - For the first time since 2009, the Raiders picked a wide receiver with their first pick, this one WR Amari Cooper from Alabama. This is the fourth time Oakland had the number four pick and had fairly good luck with it. In 1998, they selected DB Charles Woodson, who had a great NFL career and is still playing. In 2008, the Raiders picked RB Darren McFadden, who just signed to play with the Cowboys this offseason. Oakland also had this pick in the AFL. In 1961, they picked DT Joe Rutgens, but he chose to play in the NFL (Washington), never playing a down for the Raiders. Cooper is the fifth player from Alabama selected with this pick. In 1989, the Kansas City Chiefs used this pick to select Hall of Famer LB Derrick Thomas, but Tampa Bay's choice of Keith McCants didn't pan out so well. Indianapolis chose DE Jon Hand here in 1986, who played his nine seasons with the team. The New England Patriots chose Hall of Famer OT John Hannah in 1973. Some lagniappe trivia, future Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant was drafted with the fourth pick of the fourth round by the Brooklyn Tigers.
5. Washington Redskins -The Skins selected OT Brandon Scherff from Iowa, who was the second tackle they selected with their first pick since 2010. This is the second time they had the 5th overall pick. In 2004, Washington took DB Sean Taylor, whose life was tragically cut short. This is also the second time that a player from Iowa was selected with this pick. In 1966, the Dallas Cowboys picked G John Niland (also picked in the 13th round by Oakland), who played for 10 seasons in the NFL.
6. New York Jets - The Jets picked DE Leonard Williams from Southern Cal. This is the first time since 2008 that the Jets had this pick, when they picked another DE Vernon Gholston, who only played for three seasons. This is the fifth time the Jets had this pick. They first used the sixth pick in 1971 to draft Hall of Fame RB John Riggins. The other picks were DT Carl Barzilauskas (1974) and QB Richard Todd (1976). Williams is the fourth USC player taken with this pick. Doyle Nave was the first Trojan taken with this pick in 1940, but didn't play a down in the NFL. However, the next two USC alums taken with this pick had decent NFL careers. In 1973, the Philadelphia Eagles picked TE Charle Young, who ended up winning a Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers. In 1990, the Chicago Bears selected DB Mark Carrier, who had an 11 year career.
7. Chicago Bears - Speaking of the Bears, Chicago drafted WR Kevin White from West Virginia. This is the eighth time they had this pick. They drafted Hall of Fame C Bulldog Turner in 1940. With a couple of exceptions, Chicago did well with this pick. In 1958, they picked LB Chuck Howley. Unfortunately for the Bears, Howley had his greatest success with the Cowboys. In 1993, the last time Chicago had this pick, they picked another wide receiver, Curtis Conway, who played for 12 seasons. White is the third West Virginia alum to be selected with this pick, along with fellow alum Howley. The third Mountaineer picked was G Brian Jozwiak, taken in 1986 by Kansas City. Jozwiak only played for three seasons.
8. Atlanta Falcons - The Falcons chose LB Vic Beasley from Clemson. This is the fourth time Atlanta had this pick and they had a history of choosing well here. In 1992, they chose T Bob Whitfield, who played for 15 seasons. The Falcons picked CB DeAngelo Hall in 2004, who is still in the league today, and DE Jamaal Anderson in 2007, who played for six seasons.  Beasley is the first Clemson alum selected with this pick.
9. New York Giants - The G-Men selected G Ereck Flowers from Miami. This is the second time the Giants ever had this pick. The last one was in 1936, when they selected T Art Lewis, who only played for three seasons. Flowers is the third player from The U to be selected with this pick and all were selected by NFC East teams. FB Dan Bosseler was the first Hurricane picked here by Washington in 1957. He played for eight seasons. The last time a Miami player was picked here was in 1987, when the Eagles picked the late great DT Jerome Brown.
10. St. Louis Rams - The Rams picked RB Todd Gurley from Georgia. This is the eighth time the Rams had this pick, dating back to their Cleveland Rams days. They first used this pick in 1937 to choose Johnny Drake, who played for five seasons. The next four times they had this pick, the Rams selected okay players to busts. However, the last two before Gurley had respectable careers. In 1971, the Los Angeles Rams selected LB Isiah Robertson, who played for 12 seasons. The last time they had this pick, the Rams selected Hall of Fame RB Jerome Bettis in 1993. Gurley is the first player from Georgia selected with this pick.
11. Minnesota Vikings - The Vikings selected CB Trae Waynes from Michigan State. This is the third time Minnesota had this pick. The first time they had this pick, the Vikings selected DE Derrick Alexander in 1995. He only played for five seasons. They fared better in 1999, when Minnesota chose QB Daunte Culpepper. Waynes is also the second Spartan selected with this pick. In 1963, Chicago drafted C Dave Behrman. However, Berhman never played a down for the Bears and was a bust. He opted for the AFL (4th overall by the Buffalo Bills) and ended up playing for a total of three seasons.
12. Cleveland Browns - The Browns selected DT Danny Shelton of Washington. This is the fourth time they had this pick. Their first two selection with this pick didn't fare so well. QB Harry Agganis was picked in 1952 and never played a down for the team. The second was a bust. They picked T John Bauer in 1954 and he only played for one season. However, the last time the Browns had this pick, they hit paydirt. In 1978, Cleveland selected LB Clay Matthews, who played for almost two decades, most of them with the team. Shelton is the first Huskie selected with the #12 pick.
13. New Orleans Saints - The Saints chose T Andrus Peat of Stanford. This is the seventh time New Orleans had this pick. They first had this pick in 1974, when they selected draft bust LB Rick Middleton. WR Lindsey Scott, also a bust, was taken with this pick in 1982. However, the rest of the times the Saints had this pick, they chose well, such as DE Joe Johnson (1994), LB Mark Fields (1995), WR Donte Stallworth (2002), and T Jammal Brown (2005), all playing for at least nine seasons. Peat is the fourth Stanford Cardinal drafted with this pick. The rest were second round picks, starting with C Vic Lindskog, taken by the Eagles in 1942. The other two Stanford alums were busts. B George Quist (1948 by the Detroit Lions) never played a down in the NFL and LB Jack Chapple, taken in the second round in 1965 by the Kansas City Chiefs (3rd round by the 49ers), only played for one season for KC.
14. Miami Dolphins - The Dolphins drafted WR DeVante Parker of Louisville. This is the second time Miami had this pick. In 1984, they drafted LB Jackie Shipp, who played for six seasons. Parker is the first Louisville Cardinal selected with this pick.
15. San Diego Chargers - The Chargers selected RB Melvin Gordon from Wisconsin. This is the fifth time San Diego had this pick. They first used the pick in the second round in of 1961 to draft FB Keith Lincoln and chose well. Lincoln played for eight seasons. In 1970, the Chargers picked WR Walter Gillette, who played for seven seasons, but only two of them with San Diego. Their best choice with this pick was in 1988, when they drafted WR Anthony Miller, who played for ten seasons in the league. Gordon is the first Badger to be selected with this pick.
16. Houston Texans - The Texans picked CB Kevin Johnson of Wake Forest. This is the second time Houston had this pick. They last used this pick in 2005 to select DT Travis Johnson, who played for six seasons in the NFL. Johnson is the first Demon Deacon taken with this pick.
17. San Francisco 49ers - The Niners drafted DT Arik Armstead from Oregon. This is the fifth time they had this pick. San Francisco first used the pick in 1951 and drafted HB Pete Schabarum in the second round, who only played for three seasons. The Niners fared better with this pick in 1959, when they picked LB Bob Harrison in the second round, who played for nine seasons, six with San Francisco. In 1970 they drafted CB Bruce Taylor, who played for eight seasons. The last time the 49ers had this pick was in 2010, when they selected G Mike Iupati, who is still with the team. Armstead is the third Duck to be selected with this pick. The first was in 1945, when the Boston Yanks drafted C Cecil Gray in the third round. Gray never played a down in the league. The last Duck taken was Hall of Fame DB Mel Renfro, drafted with this pick in 1964 in the second round by the Cowboys.
18. Kansas City Chiefs - This is the second time the Chiefs had this pick and they used it to select CB Marcus Peters of Washington. The first time was in 1964, when they picked DT Ken Kortas. However, Kortas chose to play with St. Louis Cardinals, who drafted him with the ninth pick. He went on to play for six seasons in the league. Peters is the fourth Huskie taken with this pick. The first Huskie taken with this pick was C Ray Mansfield by the Eagles in the second round in 1963. Mansfield played for 14 seasons, all but his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Steelers.  In 1992, the 49ers drafted DB Dana Hall, who played for six seasons. The Raiders drafted RB Napoleon Kaufmann in 1995 and he also played for six seasons.
19. Cleveland Browns - With their second pick in the first round, the Browns chose C Cameron Irving from Florida State. This is the second time Cleveland had this pick.  In 1960, the Browns drafted HB Prentice Gautt in the second round, who played for eight seasons, his last seven with the St. Louis Cardinals. Irving is the third Seminole to be drafted with this pick. In 2005, the St. Louis Rams used this pick to draft T Alex Barron, who played for six seasons and the Chargers used this pick in 2006 to choose CB Antonio Cromartie, who now plays for the Arizona Cardinals.
20. Philadelphia Eagles - The Eagles selected WR Nelson Agholor of USC. This is the seventh time Philly had this pick. The first time they had the #20 pick was in the third round of the 1944 draft. The Eagles chose G Loren LaPrade, who never played a down. The same thing happened when Philly used this pick to draft B Al Conway in the second round in 1953. However, in 1960, the Eagles chose LB Maxie Baughan in the second round and he played for twelve seasons. Another good selection with this pick in the second round was DE-DT Gary Pettigrew, drafted in 1966 (6th round by the Chargers), who opted for the NFL and played for ten seasons in the league. The Eagles also chose a wide receiver with the 20th pick in 1982, Mike Quick of North Carolina State, who played until 1990. Agholor is also the second USC Trojan taken with this pick. In 2004, Minnesota picked DE Kenichi Udeze, who only played for four seasons.
21. Cincinnati Bengals - Cincy picked OT Cedric Ogbuehi from Texas A&M. This is the fourth time, and the third time in six years, that the Bengals had this pick. They chose offensive players every time. The first time was in 1986, when Cincy picked WR Tim McGee, who played for nine seasons. The other two, both tight ends, are still with the team: Jermaine Gresham (2010) and Tyler Eifert (2013). Ogbuehi is the third Aggie chosen with this pick. In 1975, the St. Louis Cardinals picked DB Tim Gray, who only played for five seasons, one of them with the team that drafted him. The other was RB Roger Vick, the Jets' pick in 1987, who only played for four seasons.
22. Pittsburgh Steelers - The Steelers chose LB Alvin Dupree from Kentucky. This is the fourth time they had this pick, but only the latter two times was this pick in the first round. Pittsburgh first had this pick in 1946, when the selected E Jack Russell in the third round. The end position in his case was more a receiver than a defensive end. Russell played for five seasons. The Steelers had the 22nd pick again in 1950, which was in the second round, when they chose Hall of Fame DT Ernie Stautner, who played for 14 seasons. The last time they had this pick was in the first round in 1978, when they chose DB Ron Johnson, who played for seven seasons. Dupree is the first Wildcat taken with this pick.
23. Denver Broncos - The men in orange picked DE Shane Ray out of Missouri. This is the first time the Broncos had this pick. Ray is the second player from Mizzou to be selected here. In 1961 the Lions picked T Dan LaRose in the second round, who played for six seasons. LaRose  was also picked in the 3rd round, 18th overall, by the Boston Patriots, but he chose to play with Detroit.
24. Arizona Cardinals - The Cards selected T DJ Humphries of Florida. This is the second time the Cards had this pick. In 1964, the St. Louis Cardinals also chose a tackle, Herschel Turner in the second round. He was also selected in the 8th round by Oakland. Turner only played for two seasons. Humphries is the second Gator to be selected with this pick. In 2000, the 49ers picked DT Reggie McGrew, who only played for three seasons. Hopefully Humphries will fare better.
25. Carolina Panthers - The Panthers picked LB Shaq Thompson from Washington. This is the second time Carolina had this pick. In 2007, they picked another LB, Jon Beeson, who is still playing in the NFL. Thompson is the second Huskie to be selected with this pick. In 1962, the Oakland Raiders drafted DT John Meyers in the fourth round, who never played a down with the team. Instead Meyers, also drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the third round, chose to play for the NFL and played six seasons in the league for the Cowboys and the Eagles.
26. Baltimore Ravens - Baltimore drafted WR Breshad Perriman of Central Florida. This is the second time the Ravens had this pick. In their inaugural season of 1996, Baltimore's used this pick to draft LB Ray Lewis. Perriman is also the first Knight taken with this pick.
27. Dallas Cowboys - The Cowboys chose DB Byron Jones of Connecticut. This is the fourth time Dallas had this pick. The first time was in 1970, when they chose T Bob Asher in the second round. Asher played for six season, the last four with the Bears. They had this pick again in 1976, this time in the first round, when they chose DB Aaron Kyle, who played for seven seasons. The last time the Cowboys had this pick was in 1979, when they chose C Robert Shaw, who only played for three seasons. Jones is the third Huskie taken with this pick. In 1963, the Jets drafted DT John Contoulis in the fourth round, but he chose to play with the Giants. However, the joke was on the G-Men, because Contoulis only played for one season. Maybe that's why New York drafted him in the 16th round. The last UConn alum who was taken with this pick was RB Donald Brown by the Colts in 2009. Brown is still in the league today.
28. Detroit Lions -The Lions picked G Laken Tomlinson from Duke. This is the first time Detroit has ever had this pick. Tomlinson is also the first Blue Devil ever taken with this pick.
29. Indianapolis Colts - The Colts picked WR Phillip Dorsett of Miami. This is the fourth time Indy had this pick. In 1983, the Baltimore Colts used this pick in the second round to draft LB Vernon Maxwell. This was the Colts next pick after they drafted John Elway. At least Maxwell played for the Colts and he lasted six seasons in the league. In 1992, Indy picked DB Ashley Ambrose in the second round. Ambrose played for 13 seasons in the league. The Colts also used this pick in 2005 to pick DB Marlin Jackson, who played for six seasons in the league. Dorsett is the first Hurricane ever selected with this pick.
30. Green Bay Packers - The Packers drafted FS Damarious Randall of Arizona State. This is the fourth time Green Bay had this pick. The first had the 30th overall pick in 1950, when they chose DE Gordie Soltau, who played for nine seasons, all with the 49ers. In 1966, Green Bay used this pick in the second round to draft T John Cichowski, who never played a down in the NFL. Although not drafted by the AFL, Cichowski's only two years were with Denver (1967-68). The Packers had better luck in 1997, when they drafted T-G Ross Verba, who played eight years in the league, four in Green Bay. Randall is the second Sun Devil to be selected with this pick. In 1988, Philadelphia picked DB Eric Allen in the second round. Allen played 14 seasons in the league.
31. New Orleans Saints - The Saints used their second pick in the first round to draft LB Stephone Anthony from Clemson. This is the fourth time the Saints had this pick, but it's the first time in the first round. They first used the 31st pick to choose T Sam Holden in the second round in 1971.  Holden, who only played for that season, was the player New Orleans chose after Archie Manning. They had this pick again in 1972 and the Saints used it to choose LB Willie Hall, who played for six seasons, the last four with the Raiders. New Orleans fared better in 1986, when they drafted RB Dalton Hilliard, who played his eight year career with the Saints. Anthony is the second Clemson Tiger to be selected with this pick. In 1987, Atlanta drafted RB Kenny Flowers in the second round. Flowers only played for two seasons.
32. New England Patriots - The Patriots selected DT Malcolm Brown of Texas. This is the fifth time the Patriots had this pick and none of the previous four were busts. The Boston Patriots first had this pick in 1968 and drafted T Tom Funchess in the second round, who played seven seasons in the league. The Pats had this pick again the next year and selected C Mike Montler, also in the second round, who played for ten seasons in the league. New England had this pick in consecutive years again. In 2004, they picked TE Ben Watson, who is still in the league. In 2005, the Pats chose G Logan Mankins, who played all but last season with the team. Brown is the only Longhorn ever taken with this pick.
     

There you have it. As you can see, there's a lot of history and it still says the NFL Draft is a total crapshoot. For all we know, there may be a bunch of future Hall of Famers from this draft, legendary busts, or both. Only time will tell. Good luck to all the players, selected or not.

Have a great day!!

Random Stuff

It's been over a month and a half since my last post. Oh well. Life's been busy.

First of all, congrats to the 16-66 Minnesota Timberwolves. They are the 2015 NBA Kings of the Cellar and by luck of the draw, the T-Wolves have the first pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. May they choose well.

Speaking of Kings of the Cellar, the 16-34 Milwaukee Brewers are MLB's Kings of the Cellar right now. They are 2.5 games ahead of the 19-32 Philadelphia Phillies and Oakland A's. An honorable mention goes out to the 25-24 New York Yankees. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and 4-12 since May 12.

I started a NFL Draft trivia post like the one I wrote a few years ago. Still not done with it, but I will post it soon.

We're still working on the fixes to my first novel, The Curse. Hopefully the revised version will be published in the next week or two. If you downloaded a copy of The Curse, please let me know.

There are tons of writing advice out there. Some of it is great and some of it is total crap. The key is to figure out what works for you as a writer. One piece of advice I followed is to not make every post or blog entry translate to "Buy my book." I do bring up my books when one of them has a free promotion. It's good advice, but when is a good time to hawk your books? Feedback on that varies.

About a year ago, I wrote that my upcoming ebook, Second Chance should be published by August. Yeah, that didn't work too well. The upside is it won't have anywhere near the editing issues that The Curse had.

I decided to pass on a free promotion this quarter of my ebook, Rickshaw, New Mexico.

Right now, I'm doing the first edit of my April 2014 CampNaNoWriMo project, Justice. I'm also writing a short story set somewhere in the Tennessee Appalachian mountains. Once I finish writing the story, there will be enough short stories for another book.

Back to work...

Have a great day!!!

Some Cardinals-Cubs Series History

Happy Easter and it's Opening Day in Major League Baseball. It's a beautiful day in New Orleans right now. Let's have some fun.

Tonight, the St. Louis Cardinals visit the Chicago Cubs to kick off the 2015 MLB season. Chicago leads the series 1,190-1,116-19. In this decade however, the Cardinals lead the series 48-37 and they led the series last season 10-9. Yes, there were the St. Louis Brown Stockings. However, they folded after the 1875 season due to a game fixing scandal and the 1876-81 teams are not considered to be part of this St. Louis franchise.

Also, according to Wikipedia, there were 19 ties in the series, but those games aren't listed on mcubed.net (Cubs v Cards series). The ties are listed as losses for both teams, so I subtracted 19 losses from their records. The Baseball Reference head to head page isn't any better. The tie games aren't even counted in the head to head series. At least they're counted with overall records.

The series began in 1892, when the St. Louis Browns fell to the Chicago Colts 14-10. They went to extra innings 106 times. St. Louis leads the series in extra innings wins 58-48. In 1930, the Cubs and Cards went 20 innings before St. Louis won 8-7.

Believe it or not, in the 123 years of this rivalry, they never met in the playoffs. Prior to 1903, postseason games were considered exhibition games. With that said, before the series as we know it began, the St. Louis Browns did play the Chicago White Stockings (later the Cubs) in two "World Series." In 1885, they tied 3-3-1 and in 1886, the Browns won the series 4-2.

The most runs St. Louis ever scored against Chicago was a 21-3 win in 1977. There were also a couple of 20-5 victories in 1904 and 1925. The most runs Chicago ever scored against St. Louis was a 26-8 spanking in 1894.

Unlike football, shutouts are fairly common in baseball, so they won't be listed. Each team shut out the other at least once last season.

Here are a few other tidbits:

In 1898, the Chicago Colts changed their name to the Orphans. The name lasted until 1904, when they became the Cubs.

In 1899, the St. Louis Browns changed their name to the Perfectos. That only lasted one season. In 1900, they became the St. Louis Cardinals. The Perfectos went 84-67-4 that season.

On May 15, 1960, in the second game of a double-header, Don Cardwell of the Cubs threw the only no-hitter in the series against the Cardinals. Cardwell pitched a complete games and struck out 7 batters, including Hall of Famer Stan Musial. Chicago won the game 4-0. Cubs Hall of Famer Ernie Banks went 1-4. His only hit was a two run homerun.

In 1910 King Cole also threw a no-hitter against the Cardinals. However, the game isn't counted, because it ended after 7 innings.

And the series is renewed tonight. Good luck to both teams.

Until next time...

Have a great day!!!!

MLB All-Time Records, et al

With Opening Day coming this weekend, baseball returns to the national spotlight. Hopefully my Atlanta Braves will fare better this season than last. Also, thank you Readers, for checking out my past Today In posts.

I'm on mcubed.net MLB page and am having a little fun here. My Braves come into the 2015 season at with an all-time record of 10,382-10482. There are only 7 teams with a win total greater than 10,000: Chicago Cubs (10,503-10,277), Cincinnati Reds (10,307-10,109), Los Angeles Dodgers (10,156-9,368), New York Yankees (10,255-7,895), San Francisco Giants (10,876-9,514), St. Louis Cardinals (10,597-9,969), and the Braves. The Yankees have the MLB best winning percentage (56.5) and the the Giants have the NL's best percentage (53.3).

There are only two teams with more than 100 playoff game (including World Series) wins. The obvious and correct first guess is the New York Yankees. They have the most wins and a playoff record of 224-154. The other team is the St. Louis Cardinals, with a playoff record of 129-114. Now the Los Angeles Dodgers broke 100 in a different way. Their playoff record is 82-105 and 37 of those losses came at the hands of the Yankees.

The 14-61 New York Knicks are still Kings of the Cellar. They are 2-10 since my last post and are sporting an 8 game losing streak. The 16-59 Minnesota Timberwolves are nipping at their heels. Today's honorable mention goes to the 37-38 Milwaukee Bucks. They're 3-7 in their last ten games, but at least they're 3-2 since March 24.

I'm waiting on one more set of edit notes before putting the final touches on The Curse. Once I get them, the process should be quick. I also finished the first edit of Justice and will start the draft my inner circle will see. So far, the final checks of Second Chance look good. Someone is designing a cover, but until it's ready, I'll use a more generic cover.

Camp NaNoWriMo has started. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month, which is in November. The Camp NaNoWriMo months occur in April and July. Although I participated in all three last year, I will not be participating in the camps this year. There's a ton of editing to be done from last year's camps, not including other works that need editing. However, this is subject to change.

Until next time...

Have a great day!!!

Rickshaw 2 Day Promo and Historic NBA Games On This Day

Not much going on about my ebooks since Wednesday, except that today and tomorrow, my ebook Rickshaw, New Mexico is free for the Kindle. So let's have some fun.

Today in 2005, at the end of the 3rd quarter, the 38-23 Detroit Pistons led the 20-42 Utah Jazz 58-50. Then the bottom fell out for both teams. Utah and Detroit went on a quarter long scoring drought. In fact, for the fist 5:49, no one scored at all, missing a combined total of 17 shots. Utah scored 12 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Pistons, who scored only 6 points the entire quarter. Andrei Kirilenko led all scorers with 27 points. Rip Hamilton led the Pistons with 15.

Today in 1995, the 39-23 Charlotte Hornets took an 87-72 lead over the 17-44 Washington Bullets (now Wizards) into the 4th quarter and...collapsed. Washington scored 34 in the 4th and beat the Hornets 106-103. Alonzo Mourning led all scorers with 32. Juwan Howard led the Bullets in scoring with 18 points.

Today in 1955, after trailing the 43-29 Syracuse Nationals 60-56 at the beginning of the 4th quarter, the Milwaukee Hawks went on to edge the Nationals 77-76. Bob Petit led all scorers with 17. Paul Seymour and Dolph Schayes led Syracuse with 15. The Nationals went on to win the NBA Championship.

So who were the Syracuse Nationals? They started in the 1949-50 season and in the fall of 1963, they moved and became the team known today as the Philadelphia 76ers.

Again, my ebook Rickshaw, New Mexico is free for the Kindle.today and tomorrow.

George Foster, a down and out Las Vegas private investigator in 2011, took a routine late night stakeout assignment that changed his life forever. Things went terribly wrong when an affair turned into a double murder, with George as the number one suspect. 
 
Once at home, George got drunk, passed out, and woke up in a jail cell... 
 
...in 1886. 
   
Somehow, George went from present day Las Vegas, Nevada to a one-street town named Rickshaw in the New Mexico Territory, a place with problems of its own. With no idea how he got there, George must adapt, survive, and find his way home.

Download your copy and tell a friend.

Have a great weekend!!!

Updates and Some Old NBA Trivia

Happy Hump Day! It's foggy and rainy in  the Crescent City, and I hope your day is a good one.

Yes, we're still working on The Curse. Now that the big issues have been resolved, we're focusing on the smaller ones. The story flows so much better now.

I started to work on the second draft of Justice. This will be the first volume of a series. One of the disadvantages of being a pantser and doing Camp NaNoWriMo is remembering what you wrote before. Early in the draft, I did a quick bio of a character and did it again near the end of the book. The easy thing to do would have been to take it out. Instead, I kept it in and had the main character act like a jerk. I may tweak the scene in the next edit. There was a lot of adding in, because of what I inadvertently omitted in the first draft. That and I messed up the timeline by a day, but that's been fixed. It's shaping up to be a good story.

Also, Rickshaw, New Mexico will be free for the Kindle this Friday and Saturday. I'll post the announcements on my Twitter and Google+ pages (feel free to click the links and follow), since Facebook changed the way posts are seen. That's another rant for another day. Now for some sports trivia!

The 12-51 New York Knicks are today's Kings of the Cellar. They're losers of 5 straight games and 2-13 since February 3. The 14-49 Philadelphia 76ers are two games back, with January's Kings of the Cellar, the 14-48 Minnesota Timberwolves a half game behind Philly.

Today's honorable mention goes to the 23-40 Detroit Pistons. They're losers of their last seven and 2-8 in their last ten games. A special honorable mention goes to my New Orleans Pelicans, not because of poor play, but because they're 36-29 and last in the Southwest Division. Makes me wish they were back in the Eastern Conference. They would have been currently 6th in the rankings. They're 9th and battling the 36-28 Oklahoma City Thunder for the 8th spot now.

Today in 1998, the 42-20 San Antonio Spurs edged the 33-30 New Jersey Nets 79-78. The Spurs' David Robinson and the Nets' Kendall Gill led all scorers with 19 points.

Today in 1988, the 38-21 Portland Trailblazers defeated the 35-24 Houston Rockets 112-109. Portland's Clyde "The Glide" Drexler led all scorers with 33 points. Hakeem Alajuwon led Houston with 28.

Today in 1978, the 23-41 Buffalo Braves, while trailing 89-81 in the 4th quarter,  mounted a furious comeback, scoring 36 points, but it was not enough. The Braves lost the the 31-35 Cleveland Cavaliers 118-117. Buffalo's Swen Nater led all scorers with 30. The next season, Buffalo moved its franchise to the West Coast and became the San Diego Clippers and then the Los Angeles Clippers.

Here's one for the Knicks. Today in 1948, the 25-20 New York Knicks lost to the 27-16 St. Louis Bombers 82-73. New York's Bud Palmer led all scorers with 25 points.

So who were the St. Louis Bombers? They were a BAA and NBA team who played from 1946-50, with a collective record of 122-115. They were actually a good team in the BAA, making the playoffs all three years. In the NBA, their final year (1949-50 season), the Bombers went 26-42, their only losing season, and folded.

Here in the Who Dat Nation, there's an uproar over the Jimmy Graham trade. Half the fans love it and half the fans hate it. I'm okay with the trade. Since he got shut down by Aqib Talib and twice by his new team, the Seattle Seahawks, along with his injuries, Graham hasn't been the same player. Last season, he dropped key passes, alligator-armed others, and there was that fumble against Atlanta that was really a touchdown. Sorry, the ball did cross the plane. He did not earn that huge contract he signed before the season started. With that said, the Seahawks are getting a great receiver, as long as Graham can stay healthy. He will be missed here.

Speaking of remaining healthy, Max Unger can stabilize a porous offensive line that made Drew Brees learn what Archie Manning felt like when he played for the black & gold. Unger can also help open holes for Ingram and company, and help give Brees more time in the pocket.


Until next time...

Have a great day!!!

Gate Fatigue

Happy Saturday!! Life's been busy and it's nice to have a day off. Hope yours is even better.

So far, my beta readers' response to the latest edit of The Curse is positive. The first third is in much better shape, making it an even better read. Of course, they found a few issues, including different looking quotation marks. One set is straight and the other is curled. That's what happens when you edit in Open Office and finish up in Microsoft Word, because both programs are on different machines. At least everything they're flagging is minor.

Now let's get to what the title means. Must every scandal under the sun end with "Gate"? We have Deflate-Gate, Bounty-Gate, Spy-Gate, This-Gate, That-Gate...ENOUGH ALREADY!!! It's not just sports either. Can we come up with something else? The Watergate scandal happened in 1972. That was 43 years ago. Enough of the "Gates"! It's past time to let it go. At least on the Mike & Mike Show, their hashtag is #shrinkage. It may be sophomoric, but it's more entertaining the Deflate-Gate.

Time to get off my soapbox. The 8-38 Minnesota Timberwolves are the NBA Kings of the Cellar right now. They're 3-7 in their last ten games and 3-22 since December 12. The 9-38 New York Knicks are a half game back. They're 4-6 in their last ten games, but they're 4-2 in their last six. Both teams would have to lose all of their remaining games to tie or break the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers' 9-73 record, so it's safe for another year. An honorable mention goes to the 16-29 Sacramento Kings. They're 1-9 in their last ten games, with an 8 game losing streak.

The 0-18 Central Arkansas Bears and the 0-20 FAMU Rattlers are the NCAA Divison 1 Kings of the Cellar. The 0-19 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos and Illinois State Redbirds are the Queens of the Cellar. Who will remain winless?

I've been searching for a website to find historical scores the way the old football scores are listed. For basketball, the search parameters on the website I use aren't the same. I can get historical scores for one year and that's it. For example, today in 1955, the Milwaukee Hawks beat the Boston Celtics 88-79. No player stats are listed, but that's alright.

In my research, what I thought was interesting, was for that game, the Celtics had a player named Skippy Whitaker. There aren't too many people named Skippy anymore. The University of Kentucky alum only played one season in the NBA, in a grand total of 3 games. For his brief career, he was 1-6 for 2 points and no free throw attempts. He played only 15 minutes of game time.

This Super Bowl is much harder to pick than last year. I picked Denver (oops) because of their offense. If I had to pick now, it would be New England, but not for the same reason I picked Denver. The Legion of Boom is not to be taken lightly, but the Patriots have a better defense than Denver did.Can Brady, Blount, and Gronk handle Seattle's defensive speed? That's why they play the game.

Have a great day!!!

A Belated Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Yes, it's been a while since my last post, but life's been busy. I miss doing the sports trivia every day. The editing process takes too much time to write "Today In" posts and that time is needed to edit my upcoming books. It's also becoming apparent that I may have to start a second blog just to talk about the writing process and my books. Still working on that.

The split free promotions of Rickshaw, New Mexico were a success. Chances are, I may do that again, but have the promos at least a month apart. Also, I started to put in the edits to The Curse. Well, in some of the early chapters, I took a machete to them. In the later chapters, I added some things in and took others out. Hopefully the process will be done soon.

Now for some sports trivia...

Congrats to the Ohio State Buckeyes for winning the 2014 NCAA national championship. It's their first national championship since 2002 and their third with a year ending in the number 4.

The 2-14 Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the 2014 NFL Kings of the Cellar. Congrats Buc Nation. The beer in the cellar is yours. The Honorable Mention is also in the NFC South, going to the New Orleans Saints, who had the best offense in the NFL and couldn't make the playoffs. Their less than stellar defense couldn't get off the field on third down nor could they stop the run.

Right now, the 5-35 New York Knicks are the NBA Kings of the Cellar, though the 5-31 Minnesota Timberwolves are nipping at their heels. Both teams are past the halfway point to the total number of wins the 1973 Philadelphia 76ers had.

Today in 2005, the Dallas Mavericks scored 114 points on the visiting Houston Rockets...and lost 124-114. Houston's Tracy McGrady led all scorers with 30.

Today in 1995, the visiting Miami Heat put up 108 points on the San Antonio Spurs...and lost 113-108. The Spurs' Sean Elliott led all scorers with 32.

In 1975, the Seattle SuperSonics hosted the Chicago Bulls in a game that went to double overtime. The Bulls came out on top 127-123. Chicago's Norm Van Lier led all scorers with 42.


Thanks for reading and...

Have a great day!!!