2024 NASCAR Playoffs: Round of 16 Preview

What a race. More specifically, what a finish in Sunday night's Southern 500! There was plenty to take away between Martin Truex Jr. putting himself on shaky ground and season first-time winner Chase Briscoe punching his postseason ticket at the last possible moment. Briscoe's Crown Jewel victory and Harrison Burton's…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 8-5-2024

Inclement weather was indeed a factor in Friday night's AL East contest in the Bronx. Then again, so were the Blue Jays' bats! But in my case nothing ventured, nothing gained with the scrappy underdog that evening. Now we shift to the AL West for a Texas-sized series that could…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 8-2-2024

I think I've nailed down all of my Trade Deadline adjustments. What a whirlwind once again between buyers, sellers, and even a few in-between clubs straddling the line. After a slim Thursday slate, the MLB Morning Breakdown for 8-2-2024 gets back in action to handicap the series opener between the…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 7-26-2024

Our first post-ASB edition comes after a full seven days of action on the diamonds. And with the trade deadline looming, we're starting to find out which borderline clubs are buyers and which are sellers. The MLB Morning Breakdown for 7-26-2024 hones in on the competitive AL East in which…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 7-9-2024

Monday's slate certainly wasn't worth pounding on the keyboard for. But when it comes to the series-opening game between National League titans, I'm willing to set the alarm clock an hour early. The Los Angeles Dodgers travel cross-country into hostile territory to trade blows with the Philadelphia Phillies. Both clubs…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 7-2-2024

Expect no shortage of motivation in Seattle tonight as the 53-31 Baltimore Orioles face the 47-39 Mariners in a clash of American League division leaders. The AL East co-leader Orioles find themselves in a high-powered race with the Yankees, currently sitting as the 1-2 combo atop the runs scored leaderboard.…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-24-2024

The grind rolls on as summertime settled in abruptly last week. Fortunately, many of us - including the MLB's finest - catch a break from the steamy hot weather that has gripped most of the USA. Conditions are great for baseball tonight, so let's jump right into the new week…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-19-2024

R.I.P. to a legend. A pillar of the sport's storied past. On with the MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-19-2024... Detroit Tigers @ Atlanta Braves (ATL -125, 7) Last time we checked in on the Braves, Albert Suarez was cutting through the lineup like a hot knife through butter. Then Atlanta's…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-11-2024

Monday's lackluster slate pulled a couple totals wagers out of me with mixed results. As for inspiration to write up a handicap yesterday morning, slim to none is a good way of putting it with those six games. Different animal altogether on this fine Tuesday morning. So let's get things…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-4-2024

The Breakdown is back after a 10-day bucket list trip to Peru where the streets are crazy and the terrain is epic. Those Incas really knew how to hammer some stones! Back to business after Monday's short slate. Today's menu presents more options and the MLB Morning Breakdown for 6-4-2024…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 5-20-2024

It's Monday morning and the perfect time to scope out a batch of fresh series kicking off across the Majors. There's also a doubleheader day to close out the Padres/Braves series, but those are a pass for me. Instead, the MLB Morning Breakdown for 5-20-2024 highlights the AL Central leading…

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MLB 2024 First Quarter Report

The 2024 MLB season is roughly one-quarter of the way finished, making now a great time to self-assess our preseason projections. Where are things on track? And more importantly, where has JJ's outlook led him astray? Weather is improving across the country but recent cooler temps have reminded us how…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 5-6-2024

Monday ushers in a handful of new series getting underway, joining a weekend carryover in Philadelphia. Divisional battles in Cleveland and Oakland shape up to be interesting early-season tests. This week's Breakdown turns to Target Field with a pair of teams on the right trajectory as May comes into bloom.…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-29-2024

The MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-29-2024 takes on a matchup between squads exiting big series against playoff contenders. In the meantime, an interesting thing to note: we're 4+ weeks into the 2024 season and scoring is down about one-tenth of a run per team/game compared to this point last year.…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-22-2024

A little too much "excitement" at the day job kept me away from a midweek Breakdown. Fortunately, the new week kicks off with a pretty chunky Monday slate to break down. Without a ton of strong feelings on today's contests, we've dialed up an interesting Solo Shot in the MLB…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-15-2024

Rain and travel washed out the Thursday Breakdown but Monday is clear and the slate is jam packed. The MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-15-2024 kicks off with the early Patriots' Day tilt in Boston before heading to Milwaukee for a juicy matchup between NL playoff contenders. We'll be back Wednesday…

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The Bank On NASCAR Podcast Episode 10: Texas

Feeling empty after the Martinsville race? The Cup Series says goodbye to the short tracks for now and hello to the season's second bread-and-butter 1.5-mile intermediate: Texas Motor Speedway. The Bank On NASCAR Podcast Episode 10: Texas looks past the mediocrity that Texas Motor Speedway has produced since the repave…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-9-2024

A telling resolution to yesterday's question about which way to go in Toronto came down to Luis Castillo extending his troubling start to the season to a third outing. 4 more runs given up and another high BABIP outing helped the Jays snag a much needed win in their home…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-8-2024

We left off with a Friday night Solo Shot before the weekend hit and I headed west on the highway. The Mets bats had enough oomph to claim the team's second win of the season, all while keeping the under alive in Cincinnati. With the weekend in the rear view…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-5-2024

Cool temps couldn't hold the ball in the yard in Saint Louis or Washington, that's for sure. And despite plenty of shaky moments, the AL Central tilt in Minnesota featured in yesterday's post somehow stayed under the total. Cleveland's hit parade in the 3rd was enough to bring home the…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-4-2024

Mother Nature might actually cut today's action on the diamonds some much needed slack - especially in New York where the undefeated Tigers want to keep their status as the last remaining undefeated team alive. The Tigers/Mets double header makes six games on the slate with a pair of AL…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 4-1-2024

The sloppy show in Cincinnati soured Baltimore's rocking chair winner Saturday afternoon. Being risk averse helped in that case, though getting involved in what turned out to be a messy one is another story altogether. A productive opening weekend left us ready to tackle a meaty Monday slate that is…

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MLB Morning Breakdown for 3-30-2024

Opening Day is in the books and what a ride Thursday's 4:00 window was. The excitement and the sweats that came with it force me to remind myself that we're only 12 wagers into a 400-600 wager season! With yesterday afternoon's pair of rescheduled games wrapping up unfinished business, the…

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Handicapping the 2024 Opening Day Slate

Alright boys and girls, March 28th is so close you can taste it. And that means one thing - okay, maybe more than just one - it's time for a rundown of 2024 Opening Day handicapping. Then we'll kick off the 6th Annual MLB Morning Breakdown series with a featured…

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Handicapping the 2024 Seoul Series

The "real" Opening Day isn't until March 28th but the MLB World Tour's 2024 Seoul Series officially counts as the first two games of the season. Festivities kick off with a two-game set between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres across the Pacific Ocean. It's a shorter commute…

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2024 NL Central Preview & Futures

Milwaukee persevered in a division of hot runs devoid of staying power. Of course, perennial NL Central favorite St. Louis bottoming out did not hurt whatsoever. The 20-8 start from Pittsburgh flamed out, Cincinnati's early summer heater ran out of fuel, and the Cubbies' post-ASB run petered out in September.…

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2024 AL East Preview & Futures

What a difference one year makes! Sure, the Baltimore Orioles gave us a sneak peak of their future plans in 2022 but last year's achievements were far and away one of the MLB's biggest surprises. Despite Tampa Bay's 29-7 start to the campaign, Baltimore outlasted the Rays in the division…

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2024 NL East Preview & Futures

When it comes to last year's preseason expectations, the NL East showed tremendous strength with four of its five teams ultimately exceeding their win totals. The debacle in Queens stood as the lone exception. That's a whole other story onto itself. Marginal clubs like the Marlins and Nationals finished the…

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2024 NL West Preview & Futures

Last year I asked whether there were enough cracks in L.A.'s armor to unseat them from the NL West throne. The answer was a resounding "no". But things quickly went downhill once the postseason rolled around. Ironically, the Dodgers' early exit came at the hands of no other than the…

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2024 AL West Preview & Futures

From a torrid 40-20 start through a ho-hum summer, the Texas Rangers played the role of postseason road warriors on their way to the franchise's first World Series Championship. 11 of their 13 playoff wins came away from Globe Life Field! The Rangers' third AL Pennant came at the expense…

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2024 AL Central Preview & Futures

We're becoming big fans of the AL Central after a correlated under/over win total pairing with Chicago and Minnesota got home. And that was one year removed from being rewarded for buying low on both Minnesota and Cleveland. (Don't worry, this self-back slapping gives way to shame in the NL…

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