KarateKen

Another week and another sports gambling scandal. The NBA, the UFC, and now MLB. This is really getting out of hand. Two pitchers for the Cleveland Gradians, Emmanual Chase and Luis Ortiz, are facing criminal charges for rigging prop bets in games they pitched in. The investigation started earlier this year because of unusual betting activity. Ortiz was arrested on Sunday in is expected in court on Monday. The accusation is that the rigging of the bets helped gamblers win at least 460,000 dollars in the Dominican Republic. Ortiz's lawyer has said his client is innocent and there is no credible evidence that he knowingly did anything wrong.

It has been a busy day of sports news, including the first NFL head coach being fired this year. That is Brian Daboll of the NY Giants. The Giants were 20-40-1 during his time as head coach and the last straw was the loss to Chicago on Sunday, dropping the Giants to 2-8 on the season. Mike Kafka will take over as interim coach.

Thoughts to those who died in the recent plane crash in Kentucky. There was also a near collision of planes outside LAX the other day. Maybe not paying the ATC isn't a smart decision.

As you might know, Felix the Cat is celebrating a birthday. It was on this day (November 9, 1919) that Felix made his first appearance. We were a cat family, and I have many memories of the Felix cartoons as a child. Felix is now 126 years old, that is 882 in cat years!

I went as Dexter Morgan.

You might not have noticed but the Anaheim Ducks are in first place!! They are winners of 6 in a row and their 21 points is second best in the west behind Colorado. Are the Ducks for real? Too early to tell, as they got off to a good start in 2023 only to fall apart later in the season. It has been a lot of long years for the Ducks, who have not been to the playoffs since 2018, the second longest in the league behind Buffalo. During that stretch the Ducks have finished no higher than sixth in the division.

On a less serious note, the Bills were on the wrong side of a butt kicking against the Dolphins as the 30-13 win for Miami ended my season in survivor league, so you guys don't have to sit through my ramblings about that for the rest of the year. Another big upset was the Saints over the Panthers, and the Jets are on a rare two game win streak after beating the hapless Cleveland Browns. The Ravens seem to be back from the dead, they have won three in a row and are 4-5, with games against the Browns and Jets the next two weeks, so they could be 6-5 and back in the hunt by Thanksgiving. Colts and Patriots both win, so now three teams are 8-2, and the Seahawks win puts them at 7-2, same for the LA Rams. While the best team right now might be Indy, their run game looks unstoppable, there is no clear frontrunner thus far. The Bears and Bucs are both a quiet 6-3, while Washington continues to struggle and falls to 3-7 after getting blown out at home against the Lions. Aaron Rodgers is in LA tonight as the Steelers face the Chargers, and the 6-2 Eagles visit the 5-2-1 Packers Monday night, so two good matchups the next two nights.

Fromer NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has died at age 84. Tagliabue was the league commissioner from 1989-2006.

Another unfortunate story connected to the NFL, this one about former WR Antonio Brown. Brown has been arrested on an attempted murder charge from back in June. He was in Dubai and is being brought back to the US to face the charge. Brown allegedly attempted to shoot and kill a man in Miami with a handgun, firing a bullet that grazed the alleged victim but did not kill him. The charge is second degree attempted murder. Brown has had several serious off the field issues over the years, none more serious than this one. Many have pointed to a hit Brown took while he was with the Steelers. It was a playoff game against the Bengals and LB Vontaze Burfict. A very nasty and illegal hit to the head. Someday I hope research is done on Brown's brain, very possible he has an extreme case of CTE.

The Broncos are winning a lot of close games this year, and they did it again Thursday night, beating the Raiders 10-7. Broncos are now 8-2, best record in the NFL, Raiders fall to 2-7.

Allegations that at least one fighter was betting on himself to lose, then lost on purpose. Dana White has said the FBI is looking into it. Two weeks ago, we saw the arrest of a current NBA player and coach for an alleged gambling scandal, and now this. Bad timing for the UFC. Any thoughts?

Fox Sports has hired former Saints QB Drew Breese to be part of their broadcast team, likely replacing Mark Sanchez who is facing legal problems. Breese and Brady on the same network talking football. Another trade to discuss, the NY Jets have sent DT Quinnen Williams to the Cowboys in exchange for a 2026 second round pick, a 2027 first round pick, and DT Mazi Smith. Many are critical of the Cowboys for this trade, saying it is way too much to give up for Williams, who has one sack this year. Bill Simmons called the trade "bonkers," with his guest saying that Cowboys fans should be livid. Dallas is 3-5-1 this year and ranks 31st in the league on defense.

Has anyone noticed that when you do a Google search now the first thing at the top is Google AI? Not sure what to make of that but I don't think it is good. The AI is not reliable. I will give you an example. I did a Google search about actor Harland Williams, a popular comedy actor from the 90s, asking a question about him. Google AI stated something that he said as sarcastic but put it into the AI search as factual. The computer can't tell the difference between jokes and truth, and if people read that and take it at face value they will be misinformed. Can we get a fact check for AI?

The Raiders have traded WR Jakobi Meyers to the Jaguars for two draft picks, 4th and 6th round, both in 2026. The Saints have traded WR Rashid Saheed to the Seahawks for two draft picks, a 4th and 5th round, both in 2026. Jaguars and Seahawks trying to improve their roster for a playoff run, Raiders and Saints planning for the future. Good trade for all teams involved.

Greed is ruining everything.

How about NO.

A tie is not going to get it done for the Raiders. They are in a tough division and behind the eight ball after a terrible start. Going for the win makes sense there.

Colts lost to the Steelers, dropping them to 7-2, Patriots and Broncos both won, lifting them to 7-2, so three teams are an NFL best 7-2, and all in the AFC. However, there are several teams sitting at 6-2. One of them is the Bills, who beat the Chiefs on Sunday, drop the Chiefs to 5-4, third in the AFC West. That is a tough division, and we could see three playoff teams from there, Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers. The Vikings kept their season alive by beating the Lions, but at 4-4 Minnesota is still last place in the NFC North, another division that might produce three playoff teams. There were high expectations from the Washington Commanders this season, but have been a disappointment, they lost to Seattle on Sunday, four losses in a row, and are 3-6. The Cardinals have lost five in a row; seems they have not recovered from that fourth quarter meltdown against the Titans. They face the Cowboys Monday night in hopes of ending that long losing streak. The Falcons, who had a big win against the Bills a few weeks ago, suddenly are on a three-game losing streak of their own and find themselves in trouble. It is the middle of the season; this is where the contenders start to separate from the pretenders.

It does have a title that sounds like the 70s, but yes, that is the one.

Not an MLB fan anymore, but I have to admit that this game was worth watching. It was one of the greatest games I have ever seen. It was wild from start to finish, and the Dodgers beat the Blue Jays 5-4 in 11 innings, winning after being down 4-2 in the 8th. Toronto had chances, runner on third with one out in both the 9th and 11th but did not score. Would have been nice if they had won, it has been 32 years. Amazing game, disappointed in the result. Note: This was only the third time a WS game 7 had gone to 11 innings, the last one was in 1997 when the Marlins beat the Indians. The other was in 1924!

Game 7 tonight AND an extra hour of sleep?? COUNT ME IN! That sounds like a great combination to me.

The Wild are 3-6-3, losers of five in a row, and the second longest losing streak in the league right now behind the Blues at 6. Islanders and Maple Leafs are also off to a slow start. The Flames have six points, worst in the league, while the Penguins and Avalanche both have 18 points, top in the NHL.

Original Halloween is a good movie, Halloween 2 is popular and well liked, though I never got into it. Halloween 3 is a different animal. Halloween 4 is a movie that I like early on but it falls apart, Halloween movies five and six are terrible.

Slap on the wrist for the Ravens as the NFL continues to make questionable decisions on handing out punishment. Ravens were fined 100 grand for their injury report violation last week, a situation that should have been looked at more seriously after what we just saw in the NBA, though I can't say I am surprised. No loss of a draft pick so the Ravens avoid any major consequences. No fine for the head coach, just the organization. Great job, NFL. Colts RB Jonathan Taylor has been named AFC offensive player of the month. The Colts are sitting pretty at 7-1, best record in the NFL, and are getting ready to go into Pittsburgh and face the Steelers on Sunday. Though the game of the week is in Buffalo as the Bills host the Chiefs. KC has come on strong of late after starting slow, while the Bills are 5-2, one up in the loss column on the Chiefs. Very possible that this game will be the deciding factor on who gets home field if these two meet in the playoffs. The night game is Seattle at Washington, and Monday night is Arizona at Dallas.

There is something extra enjoyable about the black and white in classic horror movies like Psycho, Night of the Living Dead, Frankenstein, ect. Holy jumping Jack-O-Lantern's look at the date! Happy Halloween everyone!