The Chiefs used four QBs last night and combined to complete 13 of 24 passes for just 90 total yards. The Seven Chiefs carried the ball at least once, gaining 40 yards (17 attempts), as the team gained a pathetic 111 net yards (seven FDs) in their 17-0 loss to the Giants. In the other game last night, the Eagles took a 10-0 first quarter lead, but never scored again and ultimately lost to the Ravens, 20-10.
My free play for Friday is at the LA Angels over the Sea Mariners at 10:05 ET. Join me tonight for my lone 20* in NFLX Week 2 action and another exclusive Las Vegas Insider on MLB (current 4-1 streak and 65% winning streak since May 1!).
With both home teams winning and covering last night, the home teams are now off to a 13-5 SU start in preseason, going 10-7-1 ATS. Both games on Thursday went under total, leaving the punters winning with a 78.9 percentage at 15-4! The Chiefs lost for the eighth straight preseason game at both SU and ATS.
The Colts will have a chance to match that eight-game skid Sunday night when they host the Seahawks (8:00 on NBC), but the Colts are 2-5 ATS during their seven-game slide (Indy is an option for three points over Seattle with a total of 38 1/2). Nick Saban is just 1-5 as a head coach in preseason with the Dolphins and has yet to cover, going 0-4-2 ATS. The Dolphins are in Tampa to play the Bucs on Saturday night at 7:30 ET (TB is a 2 1/2 point / 34 1/2 pick).
The Giants win and cover, giving them the longest active winning streak of any team in the preseason, as it was the team’s fifth consecutive win (including the last three games of the 2005 preseason). The Giants have also covered all five wins and their ATS winning streak is matched only by the SF 49ers, who went 4-0 ATS in 2005 (only 2-2 SU) and posted five straight coverages with their 28-14 win over the Giants. bears in week 1.
The 49ers will try for their sixth straight ATS victory on Sunday night in Oakland at 8:00 ET (Raiders are favored by three points on a total of 36 1/2). The Cowboys beat the Seahawks 13-3 last week, giving them a four-game ATS winning streak in the preseason and will play the Saints on Monday night (8:00 ET on ESPN) in Shreveport (Dallas is a three-time favorite). points for a total of 35 1/2).
There are three games tonight in the preseason. The Bengals at the Bills at 7:30 ET (Buffalo 3 1/2 and 34 1/2), the Lions at the Browns at 7:30 ET (Cleveland 2 1/2 and 34) and the Chargers at the Bears on CBS at 8:00 ET (Chicago is 3 1/2 and 34 1/2).
MLB ratings
Friday’s MLB schedule is one of the busiest of the season, with 17 games on the undercard due to a pair of doubleheaders. The Yankees (70-48) and Red Sox (69-50) open a five-game series (Yankees lead Red Sox by 1 1/2 games in the AL East) today with games at 1 :05 ET (Wang vs. Johnson) and then at 7:05 ET (Ponson vs. Lester). The other doubleheader is the Oakland Athletics against the Kansas City Royals (5:10 ET and 0.8:10 ET).
The A’s enter the weekend with the longest active winning streak in MLB at six games and Oakland opened August with a 12-2 mark. While the Yankees-Red Sox series gets the most attention this weekend, the White Sox open a big three-game series tonight in Minnesota against the Twins (8:10 ET). The White Sox (72-48) are 6 1/2 games behind the Tigers in the AL Central, but lead the wild-card race by 2 games over the Twins (70-50) and 2 1/2 games over the Red Sox.
The Chicago White Sox need to avoid a repeat of their last series against the Minnesota Twins if they want a chance to defend their World Series championship. The White Sox look to avenge a sweep last month by the Twins in Chicago (July 24-26). Chicago enters the game with a two-game wild-card lead over Minnesota, but the Twins, who own the best home record in the majors at 42-19, could top Chicago with another sweep.
The Mariners are worth mentioning alone because after last night’s 5-2 loss in Anaheim to the Angels, they extended MLB’s longest active losing streak to eight games. Pathetically, they have also lost 17 straight games to teams from the AL West, tying the Major League record for consecutive losses in a division. Detroit lost 17 straight games from 1996 to 1997. The Mariners’ last intradivision win was a 6-2 win over Los Angeles on June 11 at Angel Stadium. Seattle is 10-29 against divisional foes in 2006.
Tonight’s game (10:05 ET) features one of last year’s rookie pitching sensations, Felix Hernandez, against one of this year’s rookie pitching stars, Jered Weaver. Hernandez was just 4-4 last year, but he posted a 2.67 ERA and allowed just 61 hits in 84.1 innings of work. The sophomore year hasn’t gone as well as he enters tonight’s game 10-10 (4.50), having allowed 143 hits in 142 innings. As for Weaver, he is 8-0 in 11 starts with a 2.14 ERA in 2006, allowing just 50 hits in 71.1 innings.
One final note is that, of all the teams, Seattle is the only team in the majors that has used only five starting pitchers this season (you can’t make these things up!). However, that distinction will likely end on Sunday when LHP Jake Woods is expected to make his first major league start. He will replace Joel Pineiro, who has been relegated to the bullpen.
Don’t forget my special edition of Ness Notes on Saturday and Sunday, in which I’ll take a look at some of the CFB’s most notable changes (both good and bad) since 2000, and offer some thoughts on potential surprise teams and flops in 2006. .
Ness Notes is available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.