Friday Four-Pack 7.19.24
Pats wins don't matter. A miss for ESPN's Top 100. Big questions for MLB. Busy Friday NOTES!
Me: “What is that thing in the backyard?”
My mom: “That’s to keep the deer out of your father’s gardens.”
It’s highly doubtful I’ll ever get there, but I have a clear view of my ideal retirement.
Crushing Saratoga.
Winning senior pickleball events.
Letting my children take care of me.
It will be glorious.
My dad? I thought his retirement was golfing every day at Overlook or Hidden Creek…maybe mix in four or five hours of cable TV news to wrap up the day.
Apparently, he’s working on some other top-level garden projects on the side.
This homemade light and sound motion detector kicks on to scare away the deer that graze on his produce at night. Any motion after dark and the light and sound show begins.
Mind you, both large gardens in his backyard are already protected by three-foot posts and fishing wire all the way around. And I get it - deer in New England love the all-you-can-eat buffet of a local garden. They are garden destroyers.
I personally love the umbrella keeping everything dry. It appears Dad is using my old radio without express written consent. I’ll let it slide, this time.
It’s a hilarious-looking contraption that I had to highlight here this week.
I assumed this was something he built after watching a few YouTube videos, but it turns out it was constructed “20 years ago” and has been sitting above the garage this whole time. The deer have been such a menace this year he had to rig it back up and add the boom box.
“One of the country stations,” he replied when I asked what radio station kicks on when the motion sensor is activated.
But does it work?
“Of course,” says the protector of gardens. “There was some basil by the side of the house and they got to that. Gone. But for the last two weeks no issue in the gardens.”
I can watch an instructional YouTube video and do some small stuff around the house, but nothing major. Our Dads are MacGyver compared to our generation.
Our generation - I’m speaking to my fellow mid-30s to mid-40s friends here - did these skills just pass us by? The ability to change our own oil. Swap out our own tires. Build a homemade deer repellant that lights up and plays country music. I don’t think it’s just me missing these formerly basic skills.
To quote an unnamed friend who just had his dad try and help him with a dishwasher install, “I always thought at some point I would just know how to do stuff like that (and home repair) like my dad. Two kids, mid-thirties….hasn’t quite happened yet.”
Same. Relatable.
I can fire off terrible same-game parlays. I can order food for the kids on an app. Meanwhile, Dad is rigging up a light and sound show for the deer of Pepperell, MA…all to protect tomatoes and cucumbers that he’ll eventually deliver to my house in a few weeks. Thanks, Dad!
There are also reports he sprays some sort of cologne from Bermuda out there every night, as another deer repellant, but MutStack.com was unable to confirm.
Hope your summer has been as productive. Mine certainly has not been.
Meanwhile, we’ve got football thoughts. Some questions for Major League Baseball. ESPN ranks some athletes. And a busy Notes section for you.
All in today’s Four-Pack.
On the win total for your New England Patriots…
If you found MLB’s All-Star break unbearable, here’s some good news: NFL football is almost back in our lives.
August 1 - NFL Preseason Game No. 1 Texans v. Bears
August 8 - Patriots Preseason opener v. Panthers
September 5 - NFL Thursday Night Opener Ravens at Chiefs
September 6 - Special Friday Night NFL Primetime Packers/Eagles in Brazil
September 8 - Patriots Week 1 at Bengals 1 PM
August is less than two weeks away. We are so, so close.
One of the more popular ways to wager on the NFL season is team win/loss totals.
Over at DraftKings, the Kansas City Chiefs are the favorite (+500) to have the most wins this season.
The strong favorite to have the fewest wins? Your New England Patriots at +340. The Carolina Panthers are the second choice in the market at +550.
The Pats’ baseline win total (at multiple sportsbooks) sits at 4.5. If you want to bet the over, you’re looking at odds of -160. You can also bet it at over 5.5 wins at DraftKings and boost your odds to +165, meaning six or more wins for the team would make you a winner and get you an additional $165 on a $100 wager. And we’ll dedicate some time here in this space sometime in August on the best way to bet the team’s O/U or if it’s even worth it.
Aaron Schatz is one of football’s most analytical minds and the father of the popular DVOA stat. He joined our friend Andrew Callahan this week and explained why his FTN Football Almanac has the Patriots going well over 4.5 wins. He explains here -
And maybe they will? But do I care how many wins they’ll have this season?
I do not. This is all about Drake Maye.
The rookie quarterback had a good moment on HBO’s Hard Knocks when he kept up with Brian Daboll on the whiteboard. And once the season starts his good moments and progression as the team’s future at quarterback greatly outweighs the team’s win total when it comes to importance.
Like, if they start 1-6 with Jacoby Brissett, turn to Maye, and go 4-6 the rest of the way and he looks good??? That 5-12 record won’t matter one iota. And you can argue you should be rooting for a bad record that results in another Top 5 draft pick for 2025.
That’s actually the best scenario - Maye looks good and they win like three games…it’s just hard to imagine that exacta coming home. If he’s good, they’re going to win games. Hopefully, not too many.
I wonder if that team feels the same way. The organization has taken a public relations beating over the last four months. They didn’t spend money on big-ticket free agents. The owner was bad-mouthing the Hall of Fame coach after he was gone. The new coach seems a little too concerned with his interactions with the media and distancing himself from the old coach. It’s not been great.
Will they win a few games early with Brissett and keep him as the starter longer than they should, thinking the fans want wins? I’m worried they’ll fall into that trap. Fans should care about seeing confirmation Maye was worthy of the No. 3 pick in the draft. And if Maye is ready to play, he should start, record be damned.
Ideally, you want the NFL team you invest your time, money, and emotion into to be contending for a Super Bowl. The Patriots are not close. You’re much better off rooting for Drake Maye’s development and team losses for the 2024 season.
Hopefully, the team is on board with that plan too.
On some serious questions for Major League Baseball…
Why would you have the All-Stars wear those hideous uniforms?
Hideous! Sports fans on social media don’t agree on anything and EVERYONE says they sucked. Bad money grab. Even worse instincts by the marketing team. Just let the players wear their team unis with an All-Star patch. Don’t overthink it.
Why was there no stand-alone game on Thursday night?
Round One of the Open Championship was over by mid-afternoon. The WNBA is off for their Olympic break. People are so thirsty for sports that Barstool’s Big Cat, Andrew Augustus, and many others are getting THOUSANDS of views playing an NCAA football video game. Put an MLB game in primetime. Put two games in primetime. And get some of your best ratings of the season. Such a miss from MLB. Idiots.
Why did you release the 2025 schedule on July 19?
Really? Before free agency? Or the trade deadline? Or, you know, the playoffs? Again, idiots.
Why is the trade deadline so early?
With all these extra wild card spots, July 30 is entirely too early. Move it back to mid-to-late August and allow teams to fall out of it and sell to the teams that are still in the mix.
Why is Lou Merloni not doing every game with Dave O’Brien on NESN?
This one is obviously for NESN. But seriously. Enough with the rotation. The annual Awful Announcing MLB broadcast team poll puts you 15th in baseball. Let Dave and Lou build 100-plus games of chemistry and make that booth great again.
On ESPN’s Top 100 Athletes since 2000…
MLB’s All-Star Break means you get a wide array of topics on sports radio.
How to fix the Home Run Derby
Is a NASCAR driver an athlete?
A host talking about getting stung by a bee.
Just a sampling of what we got in Boston over the last few days.
Big, BIG list week too. Lists are a great way to power through the slowest sports week of the year: for sports radio hosts and MutStack.com authors.
ESPN.con provided plenty of fuel for all of us by counting down their Top 100 athletes since 2000.
We got the Top 25 on Thursday and most importantly, the Top 5.
Michael Phelps
Serena Williams
Lionel Messi
LeBron James
Tom Brady
I had not planned to spend any time on this, but I also assumed Tiger Woods would be No. 1. If not No. 1, somewhere in the Top 3.
Nope, Tiger clocks in No. 8.
I mean, he should be No. 1, right?
If my math is right he won 131 times since 2000.
(Editor’s note - My math was not right. He’s won 66 times since 2000. I think) He won 11 of his 13 majors after 2000. And his “Tiger Slam,” happened in 2000 and 2001. He remains the only player to have won all four professional major championships in a row. His scoring average during that 2000 season is the lowest ever in PGA Tour history.
Beyond that, he had a colossal impact on the sport of golf. Yes for fans and weekend hacks like me - he made golf cool. But also for players - the financial trajectory of the sport SKYROCKETED when Tiger went on his run in 2000. His physical approach to the game also changed the way golfers trained for their sport. You can argue Tiger doing all those NAVY Seal exercises was not the best thing for his golf health, but he for sure raised the bar for athletes in golf.
Michael Phelps, all those gold medals, and his greatness in the pool are worthy of Top 10 consideration, but we’re also talking about swimming. Golf at its highest level is more important than swimming.
In the end, ESPN received over 70,000 votes from contributors. These voters “were instructed to consider only an athlete's performance since 2000.” Maybe these voters docked Woods for this off-the-course issues? They clearly didn’t consider the relative importance and global impact of their respective sports - if they did Tiger should have been much higher on the list. He should have been No. 1. He is No. 1
I would have swapped Lebron and Brady in the Top 5, but that’s a nitpick. Having Woods No. 8 is just a miss by the list and the voters.
On your Friday MutStack Notes…
While we’ll continue to follow any progress on Bay State Racing’s attempt to bring thoroughbred racing to Gardner, MA, another of New England’s now-closed historic racetracks has a group hoping to preserve a piece of its storied past.
The Rockingham Park Legacy Group announced its plans to preserve the history of “The Rock” at the site where it once held racing in Salem, NH.
“In the coming weeks and months, the Rockingham Park Legacy Group and Tuscan Village will unveil many tributes to the track’s storied history and will introduce several exciting legacy projects. Community groups, individuals, businesses, and non-profits including the Salem Historical Society and the Southern New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, will be valued partners in this dynamic venture.”
While still too early for timelines and long-term goals, the group is committed to preserving the history of Rockingham Park on what is now the blossoming commerce center of Salem’s Tuscan Village.
I wish I had spent more time at Rockingham Park over the years. Rather than watch races there, I’d drive over from Nashua to get the Racing Form for the weekend and then go play the races at home. That was dumb. And now the closest thoroughbred track is 300 miles away from Boston in Saratoga.
There’s currently a racing statue and replica signage at one end of the Village, as a tribute to Rockingham Park.
Expect more of a remembrance for ‘The Rock’ at Tuscan Village over the coming months and years. I’m looking forward to seeing the buildout.
While some are hopeful, another Massachusetts racing insider weighed in on the potential for thoroughbred racing here in the Bay State late this week with a less-than-optimistic take - “Not a chance.”
Massachusetts’ sports bettors continue to send it in. The Bay State had the 6th highest betting handle in the country for June at $587M.
Penn Gaming used to be attached to Barstool Sports. They’re now branded with ESPN and ESPN Bet and as of June, they’re battling to stay out of the cellar in Massachusetts, where they have just a 3.9% market share. DraftKings, now working with Barstool, continues to dominate with a 52% market share.
Last week we highlighted WEEI’s abysmal spring ratings after 10 AM, and an astute MutStack reader pointed out how few phone calls they get after The Greg Hill Show ends. Limited sample size for sure, but listening to both mid-day and afternoon drive shows this week, there were hours where there were indeed ZERO calls. That’s wild for a major market station like WEEI.
Speaking of WEEI, after Greg Hill signed an extension last November, Greg Hill Show co-host Courtney Cox signed an extension of her own with the station this week. Not a surprise with the success of that show. It remains to be seen what’s next for the post-10 AM lineup after the spring ratings disaster.
Tote board. Paddock. Commercial. Horses on the track. Basic handicapping talk. Commercial. Picks. Commercial. Horse to gate. Picks again with basic handicapping talk. Race. Quick recap. Commercial. Interview. Commercial. Repeat. For seven hours. I appreciate Fox Sports and their coverage of Saratoga, I watch every day, but we have to mix it up a bit. Please.
I can say confidently...we have said it all.
Back tomorrow with more racing thoughts and handicapping in the Saratoga Stack. Haskell Day!
Good luck with all your bets. If Tyrrell Hatton would like to make a run at the Open, that would be okay with me.
Hope the deer stay out of your garden. And thanks for reading.
Good weekend.
This was a fun “there are no good sports to discuss” (MLB is bleh, soccer is European) blog, Mr. Mut.
Enjoy hearing slice of life stories like the one about your pops!
Entertaining!
The back and forth on most shows in Boston ended a long time ago. It’s all about produced segments that fit in podcasts or you get a host that tunes out while the caller speaks. Too many hosts rely on caller takes and have zero substance.
You were one of the last that could go back and forth with callers because you watched the games. Sorry but when I listen to weei it seems like there’s more talk about what they watched on Netflix than what happened last night.
Sox Deadline talk on that station except for a few just focus on JWH and spending. They couldn’t name a potential trade target. Having knowledge of the games and being able to improvise are equally important in radio it seems. Lots seem to think it’s all improvised.