Big Bear Nolan's Blog

talk about whatever sports I feel like talking about. mainly, Football, Basketball, Baseball, racing

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  • My five intriguing series for the last weekend before the All-Star break in MLB

    1. Houston Astros (46-49) at Texas Rangers (47-46)

    In the wild wild AL West, the finale for the Golden Boot series could be for the AL West championship. Houston just needs one more win to clinch the Golden Boot while a Rangers sweep would tie the season series overall. Obviously in this division there is a LOT of season left but this series is a way to win it when the season comes to an end in September.

    2. Seattle Mariners (47-47) at Tampa Bay Rays (54-37)

    One of my favorite matchups of the year, the west coast Mariners and the east coast Rays always seem to have big postseason implications on the line and this season isn’t different. One is in first in the AL East trying to pull away in the most wide open league in the MLB while the other is well in the thick of the most wide open division in the most wide open league.

    3. Cleveland Guardians (48-46) at Miami Marlins (52-42)

    This series shows the difference between the NL and the AL. The Guardians are only 2 over .500 and just lost another series to an AL Central opponent in the Twins. Yet they sit 2 games above the AL Wildcard and still are leveled in the AL Central with the White Sox (CHW holds the No. 1 spot because they hold the lead in the season series). The Guards need to get it going because they travel to Loan Depot Park which is home to a Marlins team that continues to be red hot. 3 games up on the NL Wildcard cutline, the 52-42 Marlins are beginning to cut into the Braves lead in the NL East. As of right now, Miami sits in third and is tied for second with Philadelphia at just 3 back of the Braves. A big inter league series to end the first half will happen at Miami this weekend.

    4. Milwaukee Brewers (59-34) at Pittsburgh Pirates (47-47)

    If you are a Brewers fan, you are massive D-Backs fans this weekend. Because if the Brewers can beat the Pirates and Arizona beats the Dodgers. The lead for the overall No. 1 record in the MLB could shrink to just a .5 game lead for LA or the Brewers could claim it going into the All-Star Break. Either way just that little bit of added pressure on the Dodgers could be huge for Milwaukee as this race looks to be real interesting heading into the second half. Pittsburgh on the other hand who has really lost it from a hot start to the season is 5 below the Wildcard. The Pirates need to just stay alive or else in the loaded NL the sun could start to set on the Buccos’ season.

    5. Philadelphia Phillies (52-42) at Detroit Tigers (43-50)

    Despite what the records say, these two teams have rebounded nicely after rough starts to the year for teams that are expected to be playoff teams. Philadelphia is locked into two three-team races right now. The NL East race between them, Miami, and Atlanta. And the Wildcard race between them, Miami, and Chicago. In the Wildcard race, Chicago sits just a half a game up on both. So a lot to play for in Philly. On the other hand, despite that 43-50 record, the Tigers are just 3.5 back from a Wildcard spot and 4.5 back in the AL Central. While that is multiple games, as they showed in the wrong way last year after losing a massive lead in the ALC, it is never over until it’s over. Detroit is 8-1 in its last nine and could be on more fire with a win over the Phillies heading into the All-Star break.

    (Note: These standings are how they sit at 4:31 pm on July 10th. For up to date standings check here.)

  • My five intriguing MLB series the week of July 6-9 in 2026

    1. Seattle Mariners (47-44) at Miami Marlins (49-42)

    The Mariners go deep in the ocean to visit the home of the fish. Really bad attempt at a pun, the AL West leading Mariners travel across the country for an interleague battle at Miami. The Marlins have been on a roll after a really good June and just swept the Athletics on the road. Now they get the leaders from the same division in Seattle. Both teams are right on the fringe of being right above and right below a playoff spot so this is one they could both afford.

    2. New York Yankees (49-40) at Tampa Bay Rays (52-35)

    Well when you break a seven game losing streak last weekend, that always nice news. That is until you lose 11-4 and 6-1 in back to back games at home to the Minnesota Twins to lose your first series to them at Yankee Stadium since 2014. To make matters worse, the Yankees now get to go to Tropicana Field to play against the now division leading Rays. When both teams played their back in April, Tampa swept the series. On the bright side for New York, they didn’t lose too much ground as Tampa lost their series to Houston to put the gap in the division at 4 games. Both teams need this one cause New York cannot afford to lose ground where on the other hand, Tampa Bay can definitely open up an even larger gap.

    3. Cleveland Guardians (47-44) at Minnesota Twins (44-47)

    As I stated in the series above, congratulations to the Minnesota Twins who won their first ever series at Yankee Stadium since 2014. That series also capped off another winning road trip for Minnesota as the Twins now head into a huge homestand just 4 back in the division and 1.5 back in the AL Wildcard. To start this homestand is the Cleveland Guardians, the last time that Minnesota beat Cleveland at home was the week of May 15-17 in 2022. Minnesota did get the Guardians at Progressive Field earlier this season for their first series win there since 2023. If the Twins really want to be there during the trade deadline and a Division/AL that’s wide open, taking this series against their divisional rivals is a start.

    4. Milwaukee Brewers (55-33) at St. Louis Cardinals (47-40)

    Cardinals, you had a winning road trip at Atlanta and Chicago and with the series win over the Cubs you gave Milwaukee a 6 game lead in the division. Unfortunately you’re next on the schedule for the Brewers. After a game was postponed in their series at Busch Stadium in May. Both of these teams will play in five games this week including a doubleheader on Tuesday. If the Brewers take 3 or more this series, it can really strengthen their lead in the division or if the Cardinals can use their home field to take this series all of a sudden not only would they probably gain a lot of games above the Wildcard standings. But could make things interesting in the NL central as they sit 7 back.

    5. Arizona Diamondbacks (44-45) at San Diego Padres (44-45)

    After tough series losses to the two teams with the top two records in the Dodgers and Brewers. The D-Backs and Padres find each other facing each other in a four game series this week. Both sit 4 back from the last wildcard spot in the NL and 14 back from the Dodgers in the NL West. While the West looks out of reach, both still are not in a massive hole yet with the Wildcard but need to get going fast cause the All-Star break is coming up along with the trade deadline. While I don’t think both of these teams are dead, it is getting late and it’s getting late fast. Especially with teams like the Marlins and Cardinals finding some fire recently.

    (Note: These standings are how they sit at 6:27 pm on July 6th. For up to date standings check here.)

  • My five intriguing series for the weekend of July 4th in MLB

    (some of these games are four game series so since their first games on Thursday are considered to be part of the weekday series’ I don’t include them until now)

    1. San Diego Padres (43-43) at Los Angeles Dodgers

    After finding some heat, the Padres have been cooled down by their rivals in LA at home and then got swept at Wrigley. After losing last night while seeing a 6-0 lead go to waste, the Padres are now at 43-43 and 3 games down in the Wildcard chase. The Dodgers on the other hand continue to strengthen the lead on the NL west by 13 games now and also hold a 2.5 lead in the NL and MLB standings over the Brewers for the No. 1 seed. LA could use this one if they want to wrap up a big lead going into the All star Break and the Padres desperately could use this one too just to not lose ground in their season.

    2. Tampa Bay Rays (51-33) at Houston Astros (43-46)

    When you’re hot and your main rival is not, that is what the Tampa Bay Rays are going through right now. TB is on a 7 game win streak and at the same time, the Yankees are on a 7 game losing streak and that has allowed the Rays to retake control of the AL East and the AL’s No. 1 seed. With a great June, the Astros have got themselves back in the race for the AL West and the AL Wildcard even with being 3 games below .500. But they ended June and started July by losing their first series since the first week of June against the Minnesota Twins. Now Houston gets the red hot Rays at Daikin Park. Can the Astros cool off the Rays and not lose ground, or can the Rays pull away from New York and take control of the relatively weak American League.

    3. Toronto Blue Jays (41-46) at Seattle Mariners (45-43)

    I’m not shocked that both of these teams are in Postseason contention as they literally competed in a 7-game ALCS series last year. But what I am shocked about is both of these teams are literally sleepwalking in this position. I know injuries have played effect especially with the Jays, but both them and Seattle have been lackluster to the say the least and only are alive because the AL is so weak. Maybe if either one of these teams can find heat they will get back to where they should be, but that starts with winning this series.

    4. Minnesota Twins (42-46) at New York Yankees (48-38)

    Here we go again, the Yankees are on a slump and they get the Twins as their next opportunity to try and break it. Minnesota after getting swept against LA found some rhythm back with a second straight series win this time at Houston to win the season series over the Astros. And while they’re only 3 back in the Wildcard and only 4 in the division, they’re just trying to hold hope that they can sneak into a spot. To do that, they got to take care of a battered Yankee team that has lost its last seven games and albeit against not great competition too. New York while they are injured is just trying to snap out of it and not let the Rays pull away in the East. These are the spots where the Yankees have taken advantage of the Twins and will it happen again or will the Twins not fall for the same NYY tricks and actually take one at Yankee Stadium.

    5. Chicago White Sox (45-41) at Cleveland Guardians (46-42)

    Series No. 2 between the two AL Central leaders started last night with Cleveland taking it. For a better portion of the last few weeks now, these two have been tied in the standings with Chicago having the upper hand. If Cleveland wants the upper hand, taking a four game series at home vs a White Sox team that has not been great on the road is definitely a great way to do it. But if Chicago can take this one, that’s a statement right there.

    (Note: These standings are how they sit at 2:20 pm on July 3rd. For up to date standings check here.)

  • Is this the U.S.’ year in the World Cup?

    The team begins the knockout rounds vs Bosnia and Herzegovina tonight.

    I can’t lie I’m not as big into Soccer as say some of my other friends are, but one thing that you know i’m always doing every four years is watching the World Cup. And this year with it being in North America and FOX doing it, the network’s advertisement with Mike Eruzione who was on the 1980’s US Men’s Hockey “Miracle on Ice” team spoke the question “What, you don’t believe in miracles?” and he could possibly be right.

    It could possibly end tonight but this has been one of the most fun times I have had watching the Men’s soccer team play in the tournament. Not only is it because we are the host, but the team themselves the crowds that have shown up, the support from around this country and doing this in a decently tough group has made it fun.

    Obviously the main man to this team is Christian Pulisic who is the captain of this team. But players like Folarin Balogun, Weston McKennie, Chris Richards, and Gio Reyna are some of the big names of this team. As a Green Bay Packers fan, it also is fun to see Alex Freeman who is the son of Packer legend Antonio Freeman play, especially when he got his goal in the game against Australia two weeks ago.

    One of the most notable things I have noticed with this team is the effect that new coach Mauricio Pochettino. The team has had more fire in their games especially after missing the dang thing in 2018 and only getting one win in group play in 2022. And this year, their wins in the group stage this year were not against weak competition either in Paraguay and Australia.

    I was at the St. Louis Cardinals/Minnesota Twins game during the US match vs Paraguay, and when a rain storm delayed the Twins game Target Field turned on the match. Every goal that was scored Target Field erupted and I got to say that was the most united I have ever heard Target Field, especially when a team that draws like the Cardinals come to town. I did watch the match at Lumen Field (or Seattle Stadium as it is Fifa’s temporary name) against Australia and that Seattle crowd which has haunted my Packers for NFL games it was nice to be with their same team. If you are an NFL fan, you know that Lumen Field can get pretty loud, and as loud as it was from my TV I can only imagine being there.

    Although tonight should be considered easy for the team, it does start to get tougher throughout the tournament for the U.S. If they win, Senegal/Belgium would be waiting in the round of 16 and if the U.S can advance to their first quarterfinals since 2002 that is when they will start to see the big boys that are known in the soccer world. My head says that unfortunately this run will probably end soon, but my heart says you just never know! With how fun it’s been being united with everyone in this run and how the boys on the field have been. Hopefully they make this country proud when the 2026 World Cup reaches its conclusion.

  • My two wishes I have for my favorite college football team this season. The Wisconsin Badgers.

    As a lifelong Badgers fan, I always thought 2013-2015 was the roughest part of my fandom that I could remember. But if anything that these last four seasons have proved are that I’d much rather be a low top-25 team that made new years day bowls with great defense and great running back play like those Badgers teams instead of these ones especially the last two years with awful QB play and a 5-7 and 4-8 record. While last season ended with some promise, I have just a couple wishes for this program this season to hopefully at least make it somewhat fun.

    Have this be the year the transfer we bring in is healthy for a full season.

    In Luke Fickell’s time, we can talk about how his Offensive Coordinator hires in Phil Longo and Jeff Grimes have been disasters. But something that in their defense has been a problem is that the big QB’s that have been brought in every year since 2023 has had injury issues. Tanner Mordecai was brought in from SMU and did miss a couple games with an injury, however he came back to end the season and was actually pretty good just unfortunately it was too late to get anything meaningful outside of a 7-5 record. The same cannot be said for 2024 and 2025 transfers in Tyler Van Dyke and Billy Edwards. Van Dyke got injured early in the 2024 game against Alabama and left with a torn ACL handing the starting role to Braedyn Locke, despite the first couple games which were blowout wins it ended up being a disaster as Wisconsin missed a bowl for the first time since 2001. Then Edwards got hurt right away in game one last year, bringing in Danny O’Neil who he then got hurt. So it became a battle between Southern Illinois transfer, Hunter Simmons and freshman Carter Smith. To say the least, this disaster in the QB position led to an even bigger disaster with the season as Wisconsin finished the year 4-8 with a lot of games where they scored 14 or less.

    However, Wisconsin under Smith did find something as they were able to upset both No. 23 Washington and No. 21 Illinois to give Fickell his first two wins against top 25 teams. This season, Bucky brings in Old Dominion transfer QB in Colton Joseph. The former QB for the Monarchs in two season posted a career 306/512 passes with a 59.8 completion percentage. He can also run the ball, having a total of 1,654 yards on 272 carries. While Wisconsin has a lot of things to fix, if he can be as advertised this season, with the schedule Wisconsin has I do not see why this team can’t be a 7-5 or 8-4 team.

    STOP HIRING DUDES THAT ARE ONLY KNOWN FOR THEIR NAME AND NOT RESULTS

    Under Fickell, one of the biggest things that has caveated them is who they have hired. Fickell did bring in a lot of his supporting staff he had at Cincinnati, but he also has tinkered with some big names. Longo was the OC in 2023 and 2024, while QB injuries did affect them it was not as advertised either way. The supposed air raid offense was a total dud, especially in 2024 when the big teams like Alabama, Penn State, Oregon and Iowa exposed it. Grimes was brought in as the OC in 2025, while again QB injuries killed the season there were flashes of that this could work. Obviously it showed in the 13-10 Washington win and the 27-10 Illinois win. But Wisconsin had a game in October at No. 20 Michigan and went down the field on their first drive and scored an opening TD, for some reason the rest of the game was not like that. But if Bucky can continue to do that this season that would be huge.

    Now the other thing that I want to talk about is I did see a report who the program is targeting to be their next AD after seeing Chris McIntosh leave. ESPN insider Pete Thamel put out a post on Twitter that the Badgers are targeting Nebraska AD Shawn Eichorst to be next Athletic Director. Eichorst is currently working at Texas as the deputy AD, but his time at Nebraska only saw the fall of the Huskers football team and a bad stretch for Nebraska athletics as a whole. If this does happen, maybe Eichorst did learn something from his time as a Husker but otherwise it could be another big name that will hurt the school. We are yet to see what Wisconsin does with this news.

    I remember after hearing the news of Phil Longo’s hiring that it was talked about the players he had on Ole Miss and North Carolina. But fans of both schools said how with those players he was mediocre and sure enough not only were they correct, he was also bad with us. Now Kansas fans who watched Jeff Grimes be their OC said that he won’t be the next savior either and while 2025 definitely had its issues he had promise. So hopefully he lives up to what he was supposed to be or he will be the next Phil Longo.

  • My five intriguing MLB series for the week of June 29-July 2 in 2026

    1. Texas Rangers (42-42) at Cleveland Guardians (44-40)

    Two teams that had really good weeks face off at Progressive Field. The Rangers who still have been hot recently just swept the Toronto Blue Jays in Toronto and now with the help of their next opponent in Cleveland taking the series against Seattle the Rangers now lead the AL West. Texas will start its second three-game series vs the Guardians this season, Rangers took the first one 2-1 in Arlington earlier this month.

    2. St. Louis Cardinals (43-38) at Atlanta Braves (49-33)

    All of a sudden, the Atlanta Braves who were holding the best record in baseball just put up a week going (1-6). The Braves who now has seen a division lead shrink to just 3 games welcomes in a Cardinals team that has been playing the whole season along the border of the Wildcard cutline.

    3. San Diego Padres (43-39) at Chicago Cubs (46-38)

    What a week for the Cubs, a 6-1 roadtrip that included a big series win at Milwaukee where they saw the Brewers three best pitchers has the Cubs sitting 1.5 up in the Wildcard race and five back in the division race. The Padres on the other hand got a reality check from their big brothers in the Los Angeles Dodgers. Both begin a road trip and a homestand this week so both hope to begin it with a win.

    4. Minnesota Twins (40-45) at Houston Astros (42-44)

    Well things took a turn, the Twins kinda fell back to earth over the past week with a 2-4 homestand. The offense couldn’t get much in a sweep against the Dodgers and despite still taking two against the Rockies, it was an abysmal series for the bullpen who helped give up a 7-0 lead in the top of the 8th to a 8-7 deficit going into the bottom of the ninth (Twins still won behind a Royce Lewis walkoff) then they got 8 runs put up again on Saturday. Most came behind 3 home runs from Hunter Goodman. Despite all of this, the Twins still have lost little to no ground just 4.5 back in the AL Central and 2 back in the Wildcard. Houston on the other hand after a rough start has rebounded nicely and sits just 1 back in the wide open AL West and 0.5 back in the Wildcard. An interesting series for both teams at Daikin Park that could either keep both hopes alive to potentially build or decide if the loser should sell will happen.

    5. Los Angeles Dodgers (54-30) at Athletics (40-44)

    I will be honest, not many series this week really catch my eye but this one not only does have Postseason implications, where it is at is kinda interesting. The Dodgers big 6-1 week so far in the homestand over the Twins and Padres have allowed them to take a 10 game lead in the NL west and 2.5 lead over the Brewers for the best record in the MLB. The A’s however still are hanging around in the wild AL west just 2 behind despite being four below .500. This series could honestly go either way, at the minor league park in Sacramento. It could either be a Dodgers easy blowout or an A’s upset. Going from Target Field which had its biggest 3 crowds of the season to a huge divisional matchup at Petco now to this, it will be interesting to see what fire the Dodgers come out with.

    (Note: These standings are how they sit at 4:06 pm on June 29th. For up to date standings check here.)

    *my apologies, when I first made this I accidentally misread the schedule and thought the SD/CHC series was at Petco. So that has been corrected now

  • My five intriguing series the weekend of June 26-28 in MLB

    1. Chicago Cubs (44-37) at Milwaukee Brewers (49-29)

    The I-94 Rivalry makes its first stop at American Family Field this season. It is the first time that the NL Central rivals will play at Milwaukee since the Brewers clinched the NLDS over the Cubs in game 5 last season. Although the Brewers swept the Cubs last time at Wrigley, and are coming in hot with a sweep over Cincinnati. The Cubs and star CF Pete Crow-Armstrong have found their footing recently and are also coming with a 7-3 record in the last 10 games. Cubs are trying to catch the Brewers in the NL Central while Milwaukee is trying to run away with it so this is my biggest series of the weekend.

    2. Los Angeles Dodgers (52-29) at San Diego Padres (42-37)

    I was wondering how LA would do with an inter-league series right before this Padres matchup. There was adversity that the Dodgers had to face in the sweep of the Twins but their star power got them through it. Now the Dodgers face the Padres at Petco Park for one final time in the regular season. San Diego is coming in with a sweep against the Braves, and are in a very tight race for the NL Wild Card. The Dodgers are trying to keep a commanding 9 game lead in the division and also the fight between the Braves and Brewers for the best record in baseball where the Padres are just trying to stay in it. One of these rivals could spoil it for the other.

    3. Texas Rangers (39-42) at Toronto Blue Jays (39-42)

    If the 2023 World Champions and the 2025 Runner ups were in the National League, both teams would be in massive trouble. But even with their struggles, right now both are part of a four-way tie with the Houston Astros and Athletics for the final AL Wildcard spot. With the struggles that both have had, they could potentially find themselves holding a postseason spot when this weekend is done.

    4. Houston Astros (40-43) at Detroit Tigers (34-47)

    Two teams that have been really disappointing and involved in a lot of trade talks are all of a sudden beginning to get hot now. Houston currently holds the final AL WC spot where the Tigers only sit five below them. With still a lot of time left to go in the season, if both teams want to be potential buyers and not sellers in a wide open AL race the time that the trade deadline comes around. Winning this series would be step no. 1.

    5. Seattle Mariners (41-41) at Cleveland Guardians (42-39)

    Right now as it stands, the Mariners would be in the Postseason as the AL West champion and the Guardians would be the No. 5 seed. But two teams in wide open divisions that have had commanding leads are feeling the pressure now, Cleveland already succumbed to the Pope Leo backed White Sox as both are currently tied and the Mariners are seeing a certain team that has an orange star with an H on it as its logo over the *Objects In The Mirror are Closer Then They Appear* sign. That’s right, the Astros are only 1.5 back in the AL West.

    (Note: These records are how they stand right now at 12:22 PM on June 26. For up to date standings check here)

  • Predictions: Where FOX’s Big Noon Saturday game will be every week in 2026

    As a big CFB fan, over the offseason I love to watch the videos of people predicting where each network’s flagship pregame show and big game will be. So I want to try to predict where I think FOX will have their Big Noon Saturday game at every week

    (Unfortunately FOX ruined the fun for me and revealed the first three matchups 😦 )

    Week 1: North Texas at Indiana (already confirmed)

    To begin the 2026 season, FOX will head to Bloomington to welcome back the defending champs in their first game back since winning the national championship back in January.

    Week 2: Oklahoma at Michigan (already confirmed)

    Michigan will take on OU in the second half of a home and home series for both teams. OU won the first game last year at Oklahoma with a 24-13 score.

    Week 3: Kent State at Ohio State (already confirmed)

    Big noons first game at the horseshoe this season

    Week 4: Iowa at Michigan

    It will be Michigan’s first Big ten game with head coach Kyle Wittingham. And for Mr. Wittingham, his first experience in the Big Ten gets to be against Kirk Ferentz and his Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa last season went a respectable 8-4 and despite losing some key players, they usually always are sleepers in the Big Ten so this is my pick.

    Honorable mentions: Wisconsin at Penn State, K-State at Cincinnati, Illinois at Ohio State

    Week 5: Texas Tech at Colorado

    Despite a really tough season last year, coach Deion Sanders and QB Julian Lewis welcome in coach Joey McGuire and the defending Big 12 champs to Folsom Field. Should be a nice little test for both teams early in the wide open Big 12. Plus Big Noon has loved Deion in the past so this is my pick.

    Honorable mentions: BYU at TCU, Michigan at Minnesota,

    Week 6: Indiana at Nebraska

    This is a really interesting game, Nebraska coach Matt Rhule who needs a signature win potentially gets his first shot at one of the season as Cignetti’s Hoosiers go to Lincoln. If Indiana is at least keeping up where they left off from last year and Nebraska who has an easy schedule before this can be 4-0 heading into this game. There is a good chance this could be two undefeated teams playing. Plus a unique matchup like this is why I think FOX will chose this one.

    Honorable mentions: Maryland at Ohio State, USC at Penn State

    Week 7: Ohio State at Indiana

    I was thinking first this would be NBC’s Saturday Night game, but then I remembered FOX has first dibs at Big Ten games. So what better than picking the rematch of last years B10 championship and the two teams favored to be back there this season. Major Implications for Big Ten AND College Football Playoff are on the line here.

    Honorable Mentions: Notre Dame at BYU, Penn State at Michigan, TCU at Baylor

    Week 8: USC at Wisconsin

    I would have picked Oregon at Illinois, but that one has the feel of the Saturday Night game so I’m taking a risk here and going to Camp Randall Stadium. Luke Fickell is under pressure heading into year No. 4 under the helm for Wisconsin. However, he did finally get his first two wins over top 25 opponents last season and gets a decent schedule with this being one of his tests this year. Lincoln Riley and his USC Trojans travel to Madison after just missing the CFP last year and will hope to make it this year.

    Honorable Mentions: Oregon at Illinois, Indiana at Michigan

    Week 9: Arizona State at BYU

    In the wide open Big 12, this one is between two of its best teams and could be for a trip to the Championship game in December. ASU won the title in 2024 and BYU fell to Texas Tech last season so both know how to get there. The only other good matchup that FOX could take is Ohio State at USC but that will be a at LA and they won’t do a 9 am local time kickoff.

    Honorable Mention: Ohio State at USC

    Week 10: Oregon at Ohio State

    I think this one is easily FOX’s. NBC had the rights to when both teams were at Autzen Stadium in 2024 and now that they’re at Columbus Ohio I think FOX wants it. Plus a lot to advertise here, Big 10 contenders, Natty Contenders AND potential heisman contenders between QB’s Dante Moore and Julian Sayin.

    Honorable Mentions: Lol really no one else

    Week 11: Minnesota at Penn State

    This season, PSU doesn’t see either one of Ohio State, Michigan or Indiana come to Beaver Stadium. And this would be Big Noon’s opportunity at going there. I think that PSU who ended last season hot and hired former Iowa State’s head coach Matt Campbell going against Minnesota and Coach PJ Fleck is one of those sleeper matchups they like to do. PSU is trying to get back to the Playoff and Minnesota who has had a lot of what ifs is trying to potentially sneak their way into a spot this season.

    Honorable mention: USC at Indiana

    Week 12: either Ohio State at Nebraska or UCLA at Michigan

    Im just going to go on a limb and pick one of these two games. The week before THE GAME for both Ohio State and Michigan has been known to be a trap week for both teams and both of these games are trap material. While UCLA is going to the cold of Ann Arbor, they have enough talent to trip up the Wolverines if they’re not careful. Ohio State on the other hand, going to Lincoln is a huge trap, but maybe if Nebraska is actually playing for something decently meaningful they would know it’s a big game. But either way FOX will go to one of these games

    Week 13: Michigan at Ohio State (Confirmed)

    I wish I could call myself a genius because it was obviously going to be THE GAME as FOX has done this game every year since 2019. But it was already confirmed with the three non-conference matchups earlier before I wrote this.

    (If you want to full the full College Football schedule, I got it from here at ESPN.com)

  • I went to the three Dodgers at Twins games this past week. Here’s the five most notable things I noticed from the week.

    When your two favorite teams play at your hometown stadium, you know you definitely have to go attend that series. So that’s what I did and I want to give some thoughts on what the environment was like and what I noticed on the field.

    1. All 3 crowds were in the 30,000’s with Wednesday being a sellout

    The last two years that the Dodgers came to Target Field in 2022 and 2024, those two series were part of the Twins’ Opening Homestand in mid April. This year, LA finally was scheduled to come in the middle of summer. And predictably the crowds did not disappoint. While the amount of Dodger Blue in the stands in ’22 and ’24 with small crowds made it predicable that there would be even more in packed summer crowds. The Twins fans did pack Target Field too over these three games. And yesterday’s game which had Shohei Ohtani pitch against Joe Ryan was a sellout at 39,853. Again, it was mostly a Dodger crowd but to see Target Field packed all three games was really cool to see. It made it feel like a big series.

    2. Ironically the best experience I had was the game I did not buy a seat for

    I went with my friend to game one and he got tickets to the lower level with being a Twins season ticket holder. And then yesterday I went with my family and we also were on the lower level cause my Dad being a Military veteran got discounted tickets from the Twins Military deal with GOVX.com. What was ironic was is those two games even with them being the best ones on the field, weren’t really fun from the experience around with other fans. Cause for some reason there was an ungodly amount of foot traffic up and down the sections. On Monday, my friend and I were sitting behind a group from the Special Olympics that was happening over at the University of Minnesota. You had to be patient with them but it was really hard when it seemed like every single inning they were getting up and down and blocking your view, especially in big moments when your team was batting in the late innings. Especially when they were switching seats almost all game. Same thing happened yesterday, two folks in the section in front of my parents came back from getting beer and them coming through blocked my mom from seeing a stolen base in the late innings. Tuesday I did not have a problem because I bought a Student SRO ticket and a kind usher actually gave me a seat to sit in for that game and it was one of the folding chairs above a section and no human blocked or was able to block my view.

    3. Despite a strike, food and drink lines didn’t seem to be bad

    The Target Field concession workers began a strike on Monday’s game. And despite it, the group that helps the food run said that they had a plan incase of it and it seemed to work. There were lines, but that’s normal for a sold out game. The service though seemed to be fast, I did only get food at the same stand at two of the games but it went pretty quick. Maybe it also helps that I got my food right away and not DURING the game.

    4. Dodgers star power was the difference for them

    Even in a 12-3 blowout loss in game 2, the Twins played the Dodgers pretty well. LA won game 1 2-1 behind two homers from Ohtani and Freddie Freeman and game 3 4-3 behind a 3-run 3rd inning. Game two was close for the first half but LA took advantage of a couple of Twins defensive mistakes early in that game. But the Dodgers gold glove defense of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman seemed to have been at the forefront of a lot of run saving plays in the series. Also Ohtani showed why he is so good of a player in game 3. After communication issues with him and his catcher Daulton Rushing, Ohtani was calling his own pitches and that helped him get back on track after Minnesota put up 3 in the 2nd.

    5. Twins couldn’t come up clutch when it mattered most

    The Twins again had their chances all series. In game one, they left runners on second and third in the first inning and after that, Dodgers pitcher Eric Lauer who has not been good this season followed with six hitless innings. Then they had a runner reach with no out in the 8th down 2-1 just to get stranded there. Game 2, Twins got on Justin Wrobleski in the 2nd and 3rd to tie it at 2-2. Betts gunned down Austin Martin at home to keep the Twins from scoring on a hit in the third but two more reached anyway, and Brooks Lee came up with a chance to blow it open and nearly did in the third by just missing a 3-run homer to go up 5-2, after that Minnesota went down with a whimper. Then in the final game, Twins again had chances, especially in the last 3 innings. Byron Buxton popped out in the 7th with two runners on to end that inning, then in the eighth the Twins had Alex Vesia on the ropes with two on and two out but Lee went chasing to allow Vesia to get out of it. And in the ninth, Buxton again came up as the winning run with two outs but struck out. This game especially reminded me a lot of this game on 8/16/25 that I was also at when the Twins lost 8-5 to Detroit, Minnesota had a lot of chances to take the lead in the late innings but couldn’t get the clutch hit.

  • A rant that I have about sports on TV

    What I am about to talk about will be heavily focused on MLB but it is also something that I also want to highlight in other sports too. I am sick of having the same big market teams force fed to us sports fans on national tv channels not only for MLB but other sports like NFL, NBA or even college every single season. I know I am not the only fan that has thought about this but I also am not saying lets get two last place teams every night either which ironically is partly why I am writing about this.

    In MLB there are seven teams that get a lot of national tv games every year. Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, San Fransisco Giants, Chicago Cubs, Saint Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves. Oh wait, I just named the lineup of the teams ESPN used to show almost every week when they had the rights to Sunday Night Baseball. The problem is over the last six years, only three of these teams have been perrenial contenders every year (Dodgers, Yankees, Braves). At least now the Cardinals are having a good year and the Cubs are in playoff contention for the second straight year. But besides an ALCS appearance in 2021 and a postseason appearance last year. The Red Sox haven’t really done anything since. The Giants really besides a flash in 2021 where they had the best record have been mediocre to bad since their last World Series in 2024. And the Mets, outside of the 2024 run that was powered by Grimace and the OMG Mets. All that followed after was a historic collapse in 2025 and a really bad 2026 despite having one of the highest payrolls in MLB.

    Baseball needs to advertise their stars I do get that, but big market bias exists in that standpoint. MLB has gotten better at it, like just last night, TBS aired Dodgers at Twins cause it is Shohei Ohtani vs Byron Buxton. However, that game unfortunately lost some luster because Twins starter Joe Ryan was sick and had to get moved the next day so Minnesota was in trouble from the start. NBC, who just took the reins at Sunday Night Baseball has gotten somewhat better at advertising different teams. But they still have the same issue that ESPN had and other major tv networks still have. Feeding big market matchups that just are not good. Almost every year, the Yankees-Red Sox rivarly takes a lot of national tv windows, and while there has been past history it is not really a rivalry now. Especially with this year and Boston being an absolute dumpster fire. Or this past weekend, Mets and another team I didn’t mention in the Philadelphia Phillies had all three games on MLB Network, FOX and NBC. But why do I want to watch a Mets team with poor roster construction even with the payroll play a Phillies team that hasn’t been not performing to what we thought? Again I get big stars especially the ones that both of those teams have but that matchup is literally worse team wise than a Cleveland Guardians vs Tampa Bay Rays matchup.

    I remember in 2024, FOX did a matchup between the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee was leading the division when they weren’t “projected to” and St. Louis was a couple under .500. But my Dad and I were making fun of how John Smoltz kept on saying “The Cardinals will get better they just have to” meanwhile the overperfomlng Brewers who weren’t supposed to be good because they lost Manager Craig Counsell and then ace Corbin Burnes were getting little to no love. Maybe it was more both teams were playing at the time on how good they truly were.

    The same thing I see in NFL and College Football and Basketball too. The Dallas Cowboys get a lot of the 3:25 FOX and CBS “America’s Game Of the Week” slots or primetime games. While they have had occasional success in the regular season, Dallas has won FOUR playoff games total since the 2009-10 season. And last year, Dallas had a 7-9-1 record which caused them to miss the playoffs for the second straight year. But that doesn’t stop them from starting 2026 off with the Sunday Night Football week 1 window against the New York Giants who went 4-13 last season. Again, what is so special about this matchup?

    College Sports issue is the networks main broadcast partners get a lot of the attention. Yes, FOX airs a lot of Michigan and Ohio State games for college football. But they do also air some other interesting matchups like last season when they sent their Big Noon Saturday crew to do Iowa at No. 16 Iowa State. ESPN however has had more of an issue recently. Their College Basketball coverage has been known to be ACC biased, especially towards Duke and North Carolina and now since they signed a deal with the SEC, it’s affecting their coverage too. One of the big things that is really noticeable is how their flagship pregame show College Gameday has been. In College Basketball, they always go to Duke v UNC every year no matter how good any other game is or how bad both are. But the football College Gameday used to be known for picking some wild games like 2019 when they went to the Dakota Marker game between No. 1 NDSU and No. 3 SDSU in the FCS division. Now it’s just a lot of SEC games no matter how big or unique any other game is. And one of the most notable things I noticed last year was during the Conference Championship weekend. In the Big Ten Championship, it was No. 2 Indiana vs No. 1 Ohio State. All that was on the line was only the B10 chip, the No. 1 seed in the CFP, the potential Coach of the year race between Curt Cignetti and Ryan Day, and the hiesman race between QB’s Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin. You would think that would have nearly every eye on it right? Nope, not ESPN’s eye! Gameday instead went to the SEC Championship for the rematch between No. 3 Georgia and No. 8 Alabama. The Bulldogs blew out the Tide 28-7 in the game to win the SEC. Yes I know that is where their No. 1 crew with Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit would’ve been but why send everyone to that matchup over No. 1 vs No. 2. I know that they also had Ohio State the week before in their game vs Michigan too, but again it is No. 1 vs No. 2 so I don’t really know what else to say.

    As a sports fan I love uniqueness and parody, I know eventually that sometimes when a sport suffers from too much parody it might create a matchup that not many may care about. But a Milwaukee Brewers at Tampa Bay Rays matchup or a Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks matchup sounds a lot better then San Francisco Giants at New York Mets game or a New York Jets at Dallas Cowboys game.