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Looking at the Sixers Chances and some Odds for the NBA Playoffs

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Despite winning their final eight games, the Sixers could not avoid the NBA Play-in round, and will be facing the Miami Heat and Philadelphia fan favorite Jimmy Butler for the seventh seed of the actual NBA Playoffs. The loser, as I understand it, will face the winner of Chicago and Atlanta for a final chance to secure a spot in the playoffs with the eighth seed. In case you didn’t hate the Play-in concept enough – an 82-game season coming down to potentially two games so corporate entities can make even more money – it makes it difficult to get the odds on the playoff series since the series aren’t all set. But I did find odds for the series that are set to begin this weekend, along with some interesting odds on winning the NBA Championship. The Sixers have been fairly dominant when Joel Embiid plays. Checking his game log they were 31-7 when he played by my count. (Literally, I counted, so this is far from official.) Yet, the fan in me worries about a play-in situation against t
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Wrapping Up College Basketball Picks, Brackets, and more

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Some closing thoughts on the “madness” that was: ·          In the end, I made out pretty well with my college basketball picks on the “Ink.” Connecticut came through with their second consecutive Men’s College Basketball Tournament Championship, pushing my ho-hum record for picks of 8-9 to a very nice +$448.62. Grabbing UConn at +500 for $100 to win the Tournament was about the only good move I made in what was a rather quick college hoops season for me – not focusing on it until late January. We’re on to the NBA Playoffs . . . ? ·         My strategy of parlaying high seeds in the tournament on the moneyline for bigger bets with lower than typical rewards for parlays mostly tanked. Auburn and Kentucky going out early cost me – but that’s the risk. Somebody’s getting upset early; avoiding them is the hard part of the bet. ·         Many thanks to my brother and JZ getting involved in the Ink Brackets group . I edged out my brother Jim in the championship game for the win. I prom
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Quinn’s Quickies: Final Four thoughts, Phillies need more than homers, Embiid’s back, Picks Record Correction

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A few quick thoughts heading into the weekend: ·         I don’t love either Final Four game tomorrow. My picks have been weak for the Tournament, going 1-4 for -$43.48. (I’ll have a picks recap below, including a correction to my overall record.) I might try to pull the spreads down for a parlay, but earlier in the week, the “juice” was too high. I still like my pick on Connecticut to win it all at +500 for $100 to win $500. I thought about doubling down when they were basically even money going into the Elite Eight. But Purdue worries me a bit. Obviously, I’m thinking UConn and the Boilermakers win on Saturday. ·         Larry Bowa said what I’ve been thinking for quite a while. On Ah Jeez , speaking of the Phillies, he said, “When we hit home runs, we win. You know, we got to get away from that.” I don’t know when the front office is going to get that through their heads. For years, I’ve watched this team start slow, heat up in the warmer months, and the playoffs become a crap s
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Phillies 2024 Preview: Did they do enough?

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The Phillies open the 2024 season . . . Thursday. Because nothing says “opening day” like late March in Philadelphia with a forecasted high temperature of 51 degrees and rain (per 6abc.com on Tuesday early afternoon). The low is 41. I guess I shouldn’t complain. Dodgers and Padres fans got to watch their teams open the season for the American pastime last week in South Korea in the middle of the night local time. Americana, baby! The Phillies had a relatively quiet offseason compared to recent years. They re-signed Aaron Nola who could have left via free agency and extended the contract of Zach Wheeler, locking in the core of their pitching staff for years. They also signed Whit Merrifield, a utility player from the Toronto Blue Jays who hit .272 last season with an on-base percentage of .318 per ESPN . The team let reliever Craig Kimbrel walk in free agency, and fan favorite Rhys Hoskins was also allowed to leave with Bryce Harper taking over his position at first base. I lik
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NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament Brackets and Picks, and a Quinn’s Quickie

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The “Madness” truly begins on Thursday around noon as the NCAA Men’s College Basketball Tournament tips. For fun only, I’ve created a group on ESPN.com for readers to post their brackets. After everything is locked, I will be posting my brackets in the comments. I’ll also be posting any picks for the Tournament below (prior to tip-off) and in the comments for the first four days and possibly through the Championship game. As always, you’re welcome to do the same. Join the group for some fun, and don’t forget to post a screenshot of your bracket in the comments after the first tip-off! Our group is called: Ink Brackets The link is here: Link to group Password: DallasSucks   Readers might recall that I picked Connecticut to win the Tournament at +500 for $100 to win $500 in late February . I said the number would drop and it did, but only to +400. Honestly, I thought it would drop more. I still love the pick. As of Tuesday night, I have a Final Four pick of Houston (+140), Cr
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A Shift in Sports Media? My Interview with Harry Mayes

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“Shut up, and pitch!” Mayes’ half of the split screen as he  does “Ah Jeez.” Harry Mayes dropped some memorable lines as a talk show host for 97.5 The Fanatic. My favorite was from his rant against the at times over-sensitive ace of the Phillies during the run highlighted by the 2008 World Championship, Cole Hamels. For the record, Mayes said he loved Hamels and often defended the pitcher. Mayes left radio more than five years ago, and now calls himself a “content creator” on his Twitter/X bio . He does multiple podcasts, including Swing It and Ding It , with iHeart Media, and Ah Jeez , with Jason Myrtetus, through Not For Long Media (N4L). He was his usual blunt self when we recently communicated about the current state of sports talk radio. I asked him why he thought local sports coverage from local media outlets seems to be dwindling while established voices leave the air waves. Money? Competition from national outlets? Digital media? “All of the above,” Mayes said via e-mail.
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Quinn’s Quickies: Missanelli Returning, Too Much Talk about the Talkers, College Basketball Picks

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  I had a few quick thoughts going into the weekend. ·          Last night I heard Jon Marks talk about Mike Missanelli reportedly going back to sports talk radio with 97.5 The Fanatic. I recently interviewed Missanelli , and I wonder if it puts a new light on some of what he said, especially about young guys not having “the chops” to do the job of sports talk. Missanelli is apparently going to do middays with Bob Cooney. I listen very little to sports talk radio these days due to not being in the car much – I hear plenty of it on YouTube – but this move seems like a reach. I like both guys, but it’s just reshuffling the deck. ·          I was already thinking about how much former and current sports media people talk . . . and talk, and talk . . . about the business of sports talk and sports media on their own podcasts. Just yesterday, I saw Marks, Harry Mayes (who I’ll have an interview with soon) and Jason Myrtetus with Tony Bruno, and Stephen A. Smith with Ryan Clark, talking
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