NFL WEEK NINE 2025

 Your Miami Dolphins fired their GM after Thursday's thrashing my the Ravens. With the Dolphins in free fall, the front running Miami fans can turn their attention to the Heat for the start of the NBA season. 

If you didn't watch games 6 and 7, you missed classic October World Series drama. Props to the Dodgers who were fire and won two on the road to come from behind 3-2 in the series. And in case you're worried, Rumpole, sitting on a juicy Blue Jays to win it all bet in May, laid off his action in games 6 &7, placing bets on LA (against our ticket) that paid off and guaranteed us a 50% win on our bet, which was still a nice five figures score and putting us in the black for MLB 2025 after suffering all those losses on the Mets and Red Sox. Pitchers and Catchers report in 100 days.  Cannot wait.  

Slim pickings this week. Often by November a team's tendencies have been established and it's hard to find lines that are off and give the bettor an advantage. 

Detroit -8.5 at home over Minnesota? Pass.  Ditto Giants  +2.5 at home over San Fran; and most of the other games. 

So let's take under 48 Giants/Niners; under 48.5 Vikes/Lions;  under 51 Bears/Bengals; under 51 Colts/Steelers. 

The game of the week that everyone has been waiting for is Jacksonville/ Raiders   Chiefs at Bills.   And while we love us a home dog, which the Bills are at +2 we are going to take the points and the Mahommes to win this sucker as the marquee afternoon matchup. 

As to the Jags /Raiders clash? An ethics discussion between KFR and a Judge from the 3rd DCA would be more interesting. The Rules of Ethics are a serious two-digit underdog in that matchup. 

SURVIVOR

We are down to three. Rumpole (naturally), Daniel Tibbitt, and Lucy Lew. 

Rumpole and Tibbitt are rolling with the Rams and Double L has the Chargers. We could crown a 2025 champion in what could be Rumpole's last hurrah. 

You know what we did Halloween night? Watched Abbott and Costello v. Frakenstein and Dracula. They don't make movies like that anymore. 

FINAL THOUGHT

We have remained silent as the royal contretemps played itself out these last few weeks, ending in the removal of a royal title, eviction from a royal estate, and bandishment to the King's private estate at Sandringham, a cold and dank place on the North Sea. 

But this is what we are thinking. If Andrew Montbatten Windsor takes up painting, as Churchill did from time to time... (wait for it)

Will he be known as ...(hang in there until the end)

The Artist Formally Known as Prince?

LMAO....

THE BALL BOUNCES FUNNY IN OCTOBER

 This world series is turning out to be a classic. The Blue Jays, in last place last year, had the world champ Dodgers down 3 games to 2 heading into last night's game six in Toronto. And then something happened, which showed once again why there is nothing better in sports than October baseball. 

But before we get to last night's game, we will briefly talk about a similar play in what we consider to be the greatest world series game ever played: Game Seven, Yankees at Pirates 1960. The Yankees were overwhelming favourites in the series. And as the series played out, it showed. The Yankees won three games 16-4, 10-0, and 6-4. Getting to game 7, the Pirates won 6-4, 3-2, and 5-2.  Now Game 7 1960 is famous for the only game 7 bottom of the 9th walk off home run. Bill Mazeroski hit it, and the Pirates shocked the Yankees and became world champs. 

But before Maz's famous dinger, there was the bottom of the eighth inning. The game had see-sawed back and forth with the Pirates going up 2-0, and then 4-1 before the Yankees went up 5-4 and then 8-4. In the bottom of the 8th, Bill Virdon came up with a runner on first and no outs. He hit a sharp grounder to Tony Kubek at short. It was an easy double-play ball. But the infield in Forbes Field had small pebbles in the dirt. The sharp grounder hit a pebble that kicked up and hit Kubek in the throat. He collapsed and was subsequently taken to the hospital. 

The ball can bounce strangely in October game sevens.

 Without the double play, the Pirates had two on, and slugging catcher Hall Smith bashed a three-run homer in what turned out to be a five run Pirate inning. The Yanks tied it back up  in the top of the ninth, setting the stage for Maz's clutch immortal home run. But none of that happens if the grounder doesn't hit a pebble that causes a freak injury to Kubek. You can hear Mel Allen on the call mistakenly thinking that the ball hit Kubek in the face. 

Which brings us to Game Six in the current Series Friday night.  The Jays were down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth with a man on first. Addison "Bam Bam" Barger came to bat and was the tying run. Barger hammered a fastball from Roki Sasaki to deep left-center, over the head of the outfielders. The runner from first scored, and the Jays were down by one with a man on second. A walk off world series championship hit was in the cards. 

Except it was Halloween and the ball bounces funny in World Series games in October. 

Barger's ball stuck in the bottom of the fence... what??? 

  We shall repeat it, because we did not believe it. The ball stuck in the bottom of the fence.  We have NEVER seen that in a baseball game (of course no one had ever seen a grounder hit a pebble and take out a shortstop either). The umpires called it a ground rule double, the runner that scored was moved back to third- and this being October baseball, the next batter flied out to short center and Barger, thinking the ball was going to drop, was doubled off second-  this being the first 7-4 double play to end a world series game. 

GAME SEVEN TONIGHT! 

This is just the best time of the year.