Ness Notes for August 18
The Chiefs used four QBs last night and combined to complete 13 of 24 passes for a total of just 90 yards. Seven Chiefs carried the ball at least once, gaining 40 yards (17 attempts), as the team gained a pathetic 111 net yards (seven FD) in their 17-0 loss to the Giants. In the other game last night, the Eagles took a 10-0 lead in the first quarter but never scored again and ultimately lost to the Ravens, 20-10.
My bye for Friday is LA Angels over the Sea Mariners at 10:05 ET. Join me tonight for my solo 20* in NFLX Week 2 action and another exclusive Las Vegas Insider on MLB (current 4-1 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 the preseason, going 10-7-1 ATS. Both games on Thursday went under the total, leaving punters winning by a 78.9 percentage at 15-4! The Chiefs lost for the eighth straight preseason game to both SU and ATS.
The Colts will have a chance to match that eight-game streak on 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 from three points over Seattle with a total of 38 1/2). Nick Saban is just 1-5 as a head coach in the 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 straight win (including the last three games of the 2005 preseason). The Giants have also covered all five wins and their ATS win streak is matched only by the SF 49ers, who went 4-0 ATS in 2005 (only 2-2 SU) and posted five straight covers with their 28-14 win over the Giants. bears in week 1.
The 49ers will attempt their sixth straight ATS victory on Sunday night in Oakland at 8:00 ET (the Raiders are favored by three points with a total of 36 1/2). The Cowboys beat the Seahawks last week 13-3, giving them a four-game ATS winning streak in the preseason and will play the Saints Monday night (8:00 ET on ESPN) in Shreveport (Dallas is a three-game favorite). points with 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 featured 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 A’s 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 12-2. While the series between the Yankees and Red Sox 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 Twins (70-50). Red Stockings.
The Chicago White Sox need to avoid a replay of their last series against the Minnesota Twins if they want a chance to defend their World Series championship. The White Sox seek 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 only 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’ve also lost 17 straight to AL West teams, tying the major league record for consecutive losses in a division. Detroit lost 17 straight from 1996-97. The Mariners’ last win within the division was a 6-2 victory over Los Angeles on June 11 at Angel Stadium. Seattle is 10-29 against division 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 posted a 2.67 ERA and allowed just 61 hits in 84 1/3 innings of work. The second year hasn’t gone so 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 1/3 innings.
A final note points out 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 examine some of the CFB’s most notable changes (both good and bad) since 2000, as well as offer some thoughts on potential surprise teams and failures in 2006.
Ness Notes is available Monday through Friday at 1:00 ET.