The NBA is just a few days old and we've already seen two teams blow 20-point leads. That happens more often than you'd probably imagine, and this year I'm making a point to live bet on the team that is losing big. Last night the 76ers looked awful, but they came back in the second half of the game and covered the short spread. I'm sure it will happen somewhere today as well. There are a ton of great games to choose from, but I've got my eye on the Hawks and Hornets game.
The Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams that have a bit of excitement behind them coming into this year. They revamped their roster quite a bit over the past few years, but now it seems like they have decided to build their team around Jalen Johnson. It also helps that they have two really good defenders - Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Dyson Daniels. The team moved on from Trae Young last year, who was a facilitator and scorer for them, but also a parking cone on defense, and it never seemed like the team worked with him.
This team is now a little more athletic and younger, but still grounded with a couple of key veterans like CJ McCollum. In their opening game against the Magic, I was most impressed with their shot selection. As a team, they shot 50% from the field and 40% from deep. You really can't expect that to happen consistently, but they did create the good shots. Defensively, they really weren't impressive. They still gave up 125 points to the Magic, which is a lot for an Orlando team that isn't known for being offensively efficient.
The Charlotte Hornets remain one of those teams that I really can't understand. They have been terrible for years, and the one time they sniffed success, they decided it was time to trade away their (arguably) best player. They sent LaMelo Ball over to the Timberwolves, but that's probably because they have Coby White, and they seem to want to invest in Kon Knueppel. Unfortunately for them, Knueppel is out with an injury right now, so the team is missing a major player.
In their first game, they unveiled their new-look roster and beat the Brooklyn Nets on the road. This team is comprised of multiple role players, but right now, their biggest semblance of a star is Brandon Miller. No offense to Miller, but if he is responsible for leading the team for multiple games, you're probably asking for trouble. I do think the Hornets are going to be hovering around the play-in positioning for the postseason, but I really don't think they've improved from last year.
I really don't enjoy taking favorites on the road in the NBA. Role players don't play as well on the road as they do at home, but in this one, I'm willing to make an exception. The Hawks are the better team, have a better offense, and I think they should win this one. They do play at home tomorrow, against a tougher opponent, so this could be a trap spot, but I'm going to take them on the moneyline at -135. I do think they know how to win, and I think the Hornets are trying to figure things out.
It feels like just yesterday that I was betting on Paul Skenes to light up the Mets and keep them from scoring on Opening Day of the baseball season. I was dead wrong about that one because Skenes didn’t even last two innings in the game. Since then, it has been a pretty strong baseball season overall, but I’ve struggled a bit in the postseason. Game 1 of the World Series is tonight, and I’m looking forward to getting a win in this one.
The Tampa Bay Rays have been better at home than on the road this season, but in the playoffs they’ve gone 3-1. They were the best team in the American League and beat the Yankees, a divisional foe, in three games in the American League Division Series. It was a bit harder for them in the American League Championship Series as the Guardians took the Rays to six games. Ultimately, the Rays stopped the Cleveland offense, and that made the difference for the club in the series.
Tonight, they are sending out Nick Martinez to the hill. For the season, Martinez was 15-6 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. He only has 109 strikeouts for the season; he isn’t really a power pitcher. He finds ways to get guys out, and that’s really what matters. In the postseason, he has allowed three earned runs over nine innings with just six strikeouts and three walks. He did not face the Brewers at all this season, but they are hitting .246 against him over 122 at-bats.
The Milwaukee Brewers were the best team in baseball this season, and they’ve looked like the best team in baseball in the postseason. The Brewers went 103-59 this season and were almost 30 games above .500 in Milwaukee. In the postseason, they’ve looked absolutely dominant, getting rid of the Padres in just four games. If you watched the Padres-Brewers series, you might have said the Padres could’ve won it. You’d be right. There were some odd games, but the Brewers never said die. That was the same result in the Dodgers series. Every time the Brewers went down, they came back and ultimately won the game.
It won’t be an easy night with Martinez on the mound, but they have their own elite starter going. Jacob Misiorowski takes the ball and brings a great campaign with him. He went 16-5 with a 1.80 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP. He is a power pitcher and could throw one at 110 mph with all the adrenaline that will be going in this game. I only somewhat joke about that. He was elite in Milwaukee this season, posting a 1.52 ERA. In the postseason, he has looked a bit shaky. He has made two starts, gone 8.1 innings, and allowed three earned runs. He has allowed nine hits and four walks as well, which gives me a bit of concern. He faced the Rays earlier in the year and allowed two earned runs on four hits over six innings while striking out seven hitters.
The Rays are a team that struggles against power pitching. Something feels different about the Brewers this season, like they are destined to win this year. I actually think Martinez starting is a terrible look for the Rays. It feels a bit like they will lose to Misiorowski, and they know it. I'm going to take the Brewers on the run line at +129. Pitching advantage, home field, and this lineup has the edge in this one and I don't think it will be close.
Well, this might be the most insane piece of "advice" you'll ever hear directed at a Major League Baseball team.
The Los Angeles Dodgers failed to reach the World Series for the third consecutive season, getting swept by the unrelenting Milwaukee Brewers superteam. For most Dodgers fans, it was disappointing, sure, but the success of the previous two years, the big postseason moments from superstar players, and the parades through Los Angeles dampened the blow relative to other seasons.
But local sports media have spent the past week searching for the explanation for LA's "failure." The actual reason the Dodgers lost, that the postseason in baseball is little more than a coin flip and small sample sizes flatten out any talent advantage, is boring and uninteresting. For example, in game four, the Brewers' expected batting average was .237, while LA's was .296. Milwaukee scored six runs, though the Dodgers scored just four – which is how we get to this week's article from Bill Plaschke at the Los Angeles Times.
His postmortem of the Dodgers' season places much of the blame on, uh, Shohei Ohtani.
There's a kernel of truth to it; Ohtani was clearly limited by several injuries down the stretch, with a lengthy slump accompanying an increase in chase rate and swing and miss. There's no way to tell how those injuries happened. Yes, Ohtani had returned to pitching full time in 2026, but LA's famously careful with Ohtani on the mound, and there's no indication that it was directly responsible for him getting hurt.
But the whole team struggled offensively in October, with a .195/.267/.323 batting line and a remarkable .116 batting average with runners in scoring position. Going 5-43 with runners in scoring position isn't going to cut it, and it's a far bigger problem than just one player.
The big debate though, that Plaschke references, is whether Ohtani should continue pitching, being a two-way player, in 2027 and beyond. Ohtani and the team have already said he intends to do both next year, but Plashcke believes he knows better.
"...He's changing. His body is changing. His skills are changing. He's 32, with 13 seasons of professional baseball burdening his lumbering 6-foot-4 frame, and part of his game is slowly disintegrating under the weight."
"Lumbering" is an odd way to describe a player who stole 50 bases two seasons ago, but don't worry, it gets worse.
"The problem is his pitching," Plaschke continues, saying that it's "distracting him" and "exhausting him" and that "enough is enough."
That's debatable, sure, but again, there's logic to it. Ohtani is such a valuable hitter that there's a case to be made for him to focus exclusively on being a DH. But what he says next has well, no logic or reason behind it whatsoever.
"They need to pull him off the pitching mound permanently. And if he insists on continuing this detrimental charade, they need to seriously consider trading him."
Alright, well now we've officially left the world of rationality and gone into some sort of bizarre performance art trolling act. Or something. Hopefully.
Trading Shohei Ohtani is somewhere beyond insane. Even if he hurt his arm and required surgery to miss nine months and permanently put pitching behind him, trading him would be insane. Even if he only pitches 50-70 innings a year, that's immensely valuable combined with his hitting prowess. For context, top end relievers are making $20+ million a season to throw 60-70 innings. Ohtani's offense is worth $50-60 million a year, and even in limited usage, his pitching is worth at least the additional $20 million if not much more. With the upside of even greater value.
Then there's the fact that with Ohtani pitching in 2025, the Dodgers won the World Series. Including game three, when Ohtani hit two homers to help get the game to extra innings. Then there was game four of the 2025 NLCS, when he had arguably the single greatest performance in baseball history. Going six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts and hitting three home runs, including one that literally left Dodger Stadium.
Ohtani is such a transcendent star that he's worth hundreds of millions of dollars a year to Los Angeles in advertising, marketing, and promotions. His contract, even at a heavily deferred $70 million per season, is one of the biggest bargains in the sport. The extra revenue he brings in has allowed the Dodgers to go from being a top three or four spending team to being number one. The rush from the other 29 teams to acquire him would be quite literally hilarious, because trading Ohtani would be an act of financial suicide for LA and a massive windfall for a new team.
Plashcke is frequently not a serious person, but this is enough to warrant serious questioning of his ability to continue writing about baseball for a "legitimate" newspaper. The LA Times should ask him to focus on his one true love; left-wing politics. Clearly, his attempt to try to do both is hurting both himself, and the paper, and should lead to some very serious conversations between the two sides.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are canceling events left in right in France even as plans for Sunday's regular-season game against the New Orleans Saints remains on track.
The Steelers arrived in the country on Friday morning after a Thursday evening flight from Western Pennsylvania.
The plan was for the team to go from the airport to a practice, but that never happened. Practice was instead canceled.
And, no, it wasn't because of the civil unrest that has been in the news for a couple of weeks. It was that darn French wind.
"We had two plans coming in," Steelers coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Friday. "Just really wanted to activate the players after the long flight, just based off the communication with the weather, and just in reality of the timing too.
"We had to make the decision before we landed just to put it together. So, but frankly, driving by it, I wish we would have stopped. But this is part of our plan, so we thought it'd be definitely activating."
Winds in the area were reported at a steady 20 mph so one might understand the team's decision not to trek over to practice. And no civil unrest has been reported in the area regardless of that being a problem in past days. It's a problem McCarthy says is on his mind.
"Oh, definitely," he said. "It's my responsibility to always be aware of anything that surrounds our football team, so definitely in tune. I think the NFL, the local government and everybody involved have done an excellent job communicating.
"We're very confident in our experience here is going to be very positive."
The Steelers on Thursday canceled their Fan House event for fans in Paris because of the events of past days.
The team released a statement to OutKick about that cancellation.
"We are honored to play in the first-ever regular season NFL game in France.
"The NFL, as they do for every game, including international games, is working closely with local authorities and partners on all operational and security matters. As stated by the NFL, there have been no disruptions or impacts at League sites.
"As a precautionary measure, the Steelers designated bar that had been planned in Bastille – an area that has experienced recent disruptions – will not proceed.
"We continue to look forward to the game versus the Saints this Sunday at the Stade de France."
The Saints have so far experienced no operational setbacks that have been reported. And the Steelers hope they can also get on track and on schedule after Friday.
"We just arrived, so we're right on schedule so far," McCarthy said with a laugh.
India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has urged fans to be patient with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, saying the growing 'must play' calls are not good for the teenager's development.
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson Sr. was charged with possession of marijuana this week after an encounter with law enforcement in Indiana earlier this month, court records revealed.
Richardson, who was drafted by the Colts with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, is facing a criminal misdemeanor charge of possession following a traffic stop in Carmel, Indiana, on Oct. 12, court records show.
Richardson was pulled over by officers with the Carmel Police Department after the black 2023 Dodge Charger he was driving had a license plate that did not match its expired registration, according to FOX59, which first reported the news.
Court records obtained by the outlet cited law enforcement’s statement that officers immediately detected the "odor of marijuana" when approaching the vehicle.
Richardson, who reportedly complied with officers, allegedly admitted to police when asked that he did smoke marijuana inside the car to avoid smoking in front of his children and that there was a small amount of the substance in the vehicle at the time of the stop.
A spokesperson for the department confirmed to OutKick that Richardson was issued a summons to appear in court for possession of marijuana as a result of a traffic stop.
According to FOX59, Richardson was briefly placed in cuffs as an officer searched his vehicle where a small Mason jar containing a substance believed to be marijuana and an opened bag of THC-infused gummies was found. He was issued a citation.
Online records obtained by OutKick confirmed the charge. Richardson’s initial court date for Dec. 9 was canceled and a bench trail was set for early next year.
The Colts said in a statement, "We are aware of the situation involving Anthony Richardson and are currently gathering additional information. We will have no further comment at this time."
The charge follows a difficult week for Richardson that began with the firing of general manager Chris Ballard.
"He believed in me enough to have me here, and I'm forever grateful for that," Richardson told reporters Wednesday.
"I'm trying to do my part and not make him feel like he made the wrong decision. So I'm just trying to keep getting better every week and am waiting on my opportunity."
Pour la première fois dans l'histoire du continent, un pays d'Afrique organise un évènement olympique. Le Sénégal accueille du 31 octobre au 13 novembre les Jeux olympiques de la jeunesse (JOJ). Mais cette compétition constitue-t-elle véritablement une étape majeure pour le sport en Afrique ?
A southern Michigan school district has voted to restrict participation in girls' sports to biological females, approving a new policy in a 4-2 school board vote amid the ongoing national debate over transgender athletes competing in women's and girls' athletics.
"The Board of Education approved a new policy with a vote of 4 yes and 2 no with one board member absent," Andrew Shaw, superintendent of Monroe Public Schools, told Fox News Digital in an email Wednesday.
"As the superintendent it is my role to implement the policies established by the Board of Education," he added. "The policy that was approved is for Monroe Public Schools only and does not impact any visiting school."
The policy, titled "Girl's Athletic Participation and Facilities Use," addresses participation in girls' athletics and access to facilities. A copy of the proposed policy obtained by Fox News Digital states that participation in girls' athletics at Monroe Public Schools would be restricted to biological females, with eligibility tied to documentation on a student's birth certificate.
The policy reads, "Participation in girl's athletics at Monroe Public Schools shall be restricted to biological females as documented on the birth certificate at the time of birth. Access to and use of girl's athletic facilities (locker rooms) shall follow the same restriction."
The new policy announcement also comes after Briley Lechner, a varsity volleyball player at Monroe High School in Monroe, Michigan, and her father, Sean, filed a federal lawsuit on Oct. 9, announced by the Thomas More Law Center, raising Title IX and constitutional claims against Monroe Public Schools, the Michigan High School Athletic Association and school officials over the alleged incident.
Briley Lechner said she filed a lawsuit after she unknowingly shared a locker room with a transgender athlete.
"What's very scary is that the day that this happened, I had no clue that there was a boy on the other team," Lechner told Fox News Digital in an interview on Oct. 15.
The lawsuit from the Thomas More Law Center "alleges that school officials knowingly concealed from the Monroe High School girls' volleyball team and their parents that the September 9, 2025, match with Ann Arbor's Skyline High School would involve a biological male (transgender female)," according to the legal group.
In a statement, Briley Lechner told Fox News Digital, "Our family loves and respect everyone, regardless of our differences. This has always been about my privacy, my safety, and fair play. Nothing more, nothing less."
She added, "Every female athlete deserves to have her rights respected and protected. Boys do NOT belong in girls’ locker rooms or girls’ sports. Every girl deserves to feel safe, respected, and protected, both in the locker room and on the court. We should NEVER have to fight for that."
Sean Lechner, her father, told Fox News Digital, "The new policy may be watered down, but it's an incremental victory for my daughter and every female athlete. It's shameful it took nearly a year to get here but we still have work to do. Who's to say they can't change it again? Regardless of how some try to twist the narrative, this has ALWAYS been about my daughter's privacy, safety, and fair play. Nothing more, nothing less!"
He continued, "Since our lawsuit was announced, my daughter and I have received even more harassing and threatening messages. But at the heart of everything I'm doing is something simple — being a father, being a parent, and loving my daughter enough to stand beside her when she needs me most."
He added, "To all parents....put aside your differences, bring faith, common sense, and respect back into our homes. Our children are God's most precious gifts. Love them. Cherish them. Protect them. One day, your daughter may look you in the eyes and ask, 'Why didn't you stand up for me when I needed you?' I never want my daughter to ask me that question. I want her to know her father stood beside her and never backed down. No amount of hate or threats will silence us. I will never stop standing up for my daughter."
Hours after President Donald Trump ripped his national anthem golf swing antics, LeBron James appeared to double down by working on his golf hip turns during Thursday's night's anthem before the Philadelphia 76ers faced the Cleveland Cavaliers.
In what was a clear shot back at Trump, LeBron, who wouldn't dare disrespect the Chinese anthem, was seen standing normally during the national anthem before sending a signal back to Trump that sure looked like hip turns that golfers would use during warmups.
The Philadelphia Inquirer called hip turns "stretching." The golf world knows better.
Earlier Thursday, Trump unleashed on the Chinese sympathizer.
"While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!"
This is the video that had Trump, a noted golfer fanatic himself, fuming mad.
During a campaign stop Thursday night, Trump continued to hammer away. "What about LeBron James? Did you see that deal?" Trump asked voters in Iowa. "He's practicing his golf swing. I said, what the hell is that? I don't understand it."
The tech giant does not have an ad tier on its Apple TV streaming service, but one of the company's top ad execs tells THR that F1 is growing its share of the pie.
Doce años después de que Peter Lim se hiciera con el control del Valencia, el empresario ha vendido el 42% de las acciones del club a Pitchwise Holdings, un consorcio de inversores integrado principalmente por capital estadounidense, según ha anunciado este viernes la entidad en un comunicado. La operación mantiente al magnate de Singapur como el accionista mayoritario del equipo, pero los nuevos socios, que se han comprometido a inyectar 100 millones de euros de nuevo capital que estarán “disponibles de forma inmediata para su inversión directa en el club”, entran con una “participación minoritaria significativa”.
What an amazing night of football we got Thursday night, huh?
The Bears beat the Patriots in a thriller in Chicago, and we had two overtime games down in the college ranks. Appalachian State upset JMU, 34-31, in Boone, while East Carolina blew a double-digit lead in Memphis en route to a 41-34 loss.
Those are the nights we dream about during the dog days of summer, folks. When you're sitting through another insufferable WNBA game in July, just a reminder that you're GRINDING away for fall nights like we got on Thursday.
They're the best, and they don't stick around for long. We get maybe a dozen of them a year if we're a lucky. Last night was one of them. I hope you all took advantage.
Now, you know one fanbase who did not take advantage of last night's glorious fall night of football? The so-called "fans" of the Memphis Tigers, who apparently forgot the fellas were scheduled to play on Thursday this week.
Take a look:
Gonna need better effort next time around
Goodness gracious. The "official" box score lists last night's attendance at over 27,000. Surely it filled in a bit after kickoff, but I don't see how they got to 27K. Seems ambitious to me.
It's a bad look. There's no way around it, and no reason to sugarcoat it. It's just a bad look for Memphis and its fans.
"But Zach, it was a Thursday night!"
So? What does that mean? Are the kids not allowed to go to Thursday night games? Is there a rule in Memphis that says fans and students can only attend Saturday games?
"But Zach, it was East Carolina!"
OK. And? The Tigers are a 5-2 team and still very much alive for a playoff spot. I know they lost last week to Tulane, which certainly dealt them a blow, but it's the G6. Anything can happen down there.
Welcome to Screencaps, "America's Best Daily Column," as named by the readers. Screencaps, which publishes seven-days-a-week, is a mix of sports, pop culture, and emails from sane readers from around the world. This column isn't for the coastal elites. Give us a week to steal your heart. Our track record is pretty good. Let's have some fun.
I know this is an older video of John Daly explaining his gambling losses, but there's a nugget in here I hadn't heard before
As someone who has cigs and an empty pack of M&Ms signed by JD, there's something else I need signed for my Daly collection: an ace and face card. I've seen parts of this interview over the years, but I'd never heard that Daly was losing millions — he estimates his losses got as high as $55 million – playing 7-handed blackjack at casinos.
"The game of golf, if you’re in the hunt, you’ve got adrenaline going. But you got 140 to 300, 400,000 on the blackjack table, you’re going to have adrenaline. And I think that’s what I loved more than anything," Daly said in the "Hit It Hard" ESPN 30 for 30.
In that documentary, JD said gambling for four days straight was his life. He estimated the net losses once he'd hit rock-bottom were north of $50 million after gambling somewhere just south of $100 million.
Good luck at the casinos this weekend. Just don't be like Big John. Take a break. Go for a walk. Call it a day if the tables turn cold while playing SEVEN hands.
Have you guys been asked by an airport kiosk to add a tip at a self-checkout? This guy caught a self-serve airport kiosk where you buy water and drinks asking for a tip. I guess this isn't any different than grab & go drink stations at sporting events asking for tips.
The lesson here is that you better have your head on a swivel or that $7.50 bottle of water is going to be nearly $10 when the computer gets its tip because you're not paying attention.
Speaking of airports, why is there so much gum in urinals?
• Tom in Virginia asks:I'm sitting in the Charlotte airport, and able to read today's column because the Wi-Fi works for a change. Because I spend a lot of time in airports, I pose the following: Do guys purposely spit their gum in urinals, or are there a suspiciously high number of accidental drops? It's so common, and I move along to a clear option, but I think about the custodian dude who knows, and I mean death-and-taxes knows, that will be a part of his shift today.
Also, I get your Superbar idea, but it will never happen. I will give you a minute to visualize what derelict behavior will inevitably follow the ribbon cutting.
Good weekend to you. Take your hats off indoors, gents.
Dump Dinners and standing for the anthem
• Chris from California is fired up: Until it showed up in your column I didn’t even know "Dump Dinners" were a thing and having watched that video, now think they may be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen.
While I think some parents do it for the social media attention, I also think a lot of it is because of the infantilization of the modern adult. Remember, parents with kids this age are also the ones that are still living with their mom and dad, have to have coloring books and fidget toys at work to settle their nerves and focus and flat out refuse to grow up. They say it’s because the economy, the political system, blah, blah, blah… but honestly it’s because they’ve been allowed and are still being allowed to act like children and they are passing that along to their children.
It’s difficult and frustrating to teach your children table manners and how to eat like something other than a wild animal, so why not do something trendy that removes that headache and responsibility?
I will continue to bang the drum until the day I die, but the habits and manners we instill at home are what makes the difference between a successful persona and a whiny layabout. Could I have my children eat like animals and have no sense of order or decorum because it makes my life easier? Sure, but then what happens when they go over to a friend’s house or actually out in public and act like that?
I have 3 boys, all of whom are very active and do a ton of activities outside of school and have very active, robust, healthy social lives. Two of them are teenagers so I’ll let them go meet their friends at McDonald’s or go bum around the mall and I know that when they are doing those things they are reflecting the responsibility and values I helped instill in them. If I wasn’t 1000% sure they were doing that I wouldn’t let them leave the house.
It may make a few dinners here and there more difficult to teach your kids to use silverware, wipe themselves with a napkin, clean up after themselves, say, please and thank you but that little bit of extra effort makes a HUGE difference in their lives, maybe not right then and there but later on in life.
Also, another Outkick writer asked if we are all over getting up in arms about all of the stupid antics held during the National Anthem. The answer, at least for me is a resounding NO!!! It’s two minutes of a 3 plus hour sporting event used to honor and remember all of the men and women that made that very sporting event possible!
Once again, I have teenage boys, they don’t take anything seriously but to go back to my earlier point I taught them from the moment they were old enough to stand that they stand and show some damn respect when the anthem is sung. They don’t question it, they don’t fight it. I explained exactly why it means something and they may not agree with whatever the politics are of the moment but they know the anthem is about far more than that and these are teenage boys that also punch each other through walls and try to shotgun Dr. Pepper’s.
We do need to make a big deal out of it when athletes blow the anthem off. They are making millions of dollars that they couldn’t make anywhere else in the world because of the very things that flag and that anthem represent. If they really can’t be bothered to show some respect then we shouldn’t be bothered enough to give them our attention and money. Grow up, stand up, stand still and when you eat… eat like a human!!!
How to watch the NFL while listening to the radio broadcast
• Travis says: There's free software that has been around for at least 12 years called Radiodelay that allows you to pause live radio so it can sync to your TV broadcast. I started using it in 2013 and it's probably older than that.
You can either connect an external radio to your microphone in jack or use a URL if your favorite radio station streams their content online.
Food that too many places screw up: Nachos
• Steve in Texas spent time near where I live:Sad to hear about the lack of quality nachos in NW OH. More years back than I care to count there was a Mexican restaurant in downtown Perrysburg, OH that had great Macho Nachos. I gained about 15 lb having them and a margarita a couple times a week while on an internship in Toledo one summer. I think it was Casa de Barron and it was back in the late 80’s. Also still need to get back to Tony Packo’s, the job was just down the street from the original location.
Kinsey: There's good news and bad news, Steve. The bad news is that Casa Barron is gone, but it was replaced by a legit Mexican restaurant operated by one of the the real good guys in the food industry. I haven't been to the new place even though it's been there a few years.
As for Packo's, I have bad news: The food is all factory-made and overpriced. Yes, even the original Packo's. It's just not the same as 15-20 years ago. And if you were eating it pre-2000, it's going to be really disappointing. The original Packo's is still an institution, but the food has gone downhill.
Don't forget to vote in my poll
My phone hadn't been hammered until Thursday. I don't know what list I ended up on, but it's officially being lit up. Amy Acton is pleading with me to donate $5 to battle Vivek. This election can't get over with fast enough.
Go have an incredible weekend. We'll be in Columbus for the Ohio Junior High Cross Country State Championships. Can Screencaps Jr. run in the 11:20s or maybe even the 11:19s at one of the fastest courses of the season? The weather should be just about perfect. Stay tuned.
Bunting, situational hitting, and productive outs had seemed to become a lost art in today's baseball. But the two teams in this year's World Series brought it all back.
The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays were each the top seed in the National and American Leagues, respectively, and throughout this postseason, they've shown why.
Now, one of those franchises will be crowned World Series champions for the first time, and all the action will be on FOX.
The Brewers had the second-lowest payroll in all of baseball, while the Rays had the eighth-smallest. Those payrolls have led to a heavy emphasis on analytics. But their analytics have zigged when the rest of the league's have zagged.
It is no secret, despite how much people want to deny it, that home runs win (more on that later). That has been the case in the regular season as well as the postseason since stickball. Yet the Brewers and Rays ranked 29th and 22nd in total home runs this season.
Their success, instead, has come at the hands of good old batting average - they both hit .258, good for the top two spots in the league. Both teams also had the highest batting averages with runners in scoring position (Rays were .284, Brewers were .276).
Tampa Bay also ranked first in sacrifice bunts with 45, and Milwaukee's 37 were the fifth-most. That's not to say that bunting means you will win - the Los Angeles Dodgers had 23 combined sac bunts in 2024 and 2025, both seasons that ended in titles.
The Rays (49) and Brewers (32) also ranked first and second in bunt hits. They also were tied for second in infield hits, behind only the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In the days where exit velo has taken over (hitting the ball hard has always mattered, by the way), the Rays had the highest soft-hit percentage and second-worst hard-hit percentage. The Brewers ranked 12th and 18th in those categories and ranked sixth in medium-hit percentage.
Nobody pulls the ball less often than the Brewers, and nobody goes up the middle and oppo more than they do, as well. The Brewers even hit ground balls at a higher rate than anybody and fly balls at the lowest (the Rays are fifth in grounders and 25th in fly balls). All of that is a tremendous shy-away from modern-day data taking over.
Strikeouts have become more acceptable in baseball, but not in Florida. The Rays had the lowest strikeout percentage this season. Milwaukee, though, actually struck out at a higher percentage than most teams - they ranked 14th throughout the season, and they're actually striking out a ton this October.
The Brewers have actually strayed away from their brand of baseball this October. In the National League Championship Series, they had the largest three-true-outcome percentage (home run, walk, strikeout) out of any LCS team since 1969. They were outhit in two games and struck out more than the Dodgers in each game. The walks shouldn't surprise anybody, as they had the highest walk rate in the regular season.
But they out-homered the Dodgers in each game (the Dodgers went homerless in three of the games), and all season long, Milwaukee hit home runs that hurt badly.
Despite hitting the second-fewest in the league, they actually had the ninth-most home runs with a runner on base and the highest percentage of multi-run homers in the league.
The Rays also used the long ball throughout their American League Division Series against the New York Yankees and to clinch the pennant against the Cleveland Guardians.
In all of this, the pitching cannot be dismissed. The Brewers have maybe the best pitcher in the sport in Jacob Misiorowski, and it feels like the Rays can pick up anyone reading this and turn them into a weapon on the bump.
Brewers pitchers own a 2.03 ERA this postseason, while the Rays' staff sits at 2.59. Opponents are hitting just .183 and .201 off them, respectively, and they are allowing fewer than one homer per game.
Small ball and elite pitching undeniably got these small-market juggernauts to the big dance, but what they've proven this October is they can beat you in multiple ways - even by going the apparently dreaded "boom or bust." Now, all that is to be seen is which style while bring it home.
All the action begins Friday in Milwaukee at 8 p.m. ET on FOX.
The reported ICC calendar also includes the 2029 World Test Championship final in England from June 8 to 12, alongside a packed schedule of men's, women's and Under-19 events.
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