A. Auburn. How bad must Gene Chizik be? The Tigers went 3-9 last year, including 0-8 in the SEC. Enter Gus Malzahn, and they are suddenly 5-1 and 2-1 in conference play with a win over Ole Miss and a respectable loss to LSU. One season after being a laughingstock of college football, Auburn currently finds itself in the Top 25 of the AP poll. The Tigers are +13 underdogs at Texas A&M this weekend, according to Sportsbook.ag.

B. Bullpen cop. Thank you, David Ortiz, for giving us two lasting images with one swing of the bat. It’s hard to outdo Torii Hunter flying headlong over the right-field wall in Fenway Park while trying to steal Big Papi’s grand slam, but the bullpen cop managed to do it. If you somehow haven’t yet seen the GIF or at the very least the video, you are missing out.

C. Charges dropped. 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg Raymer was arrested in March on prostitution-related chargers. “Fossilman” reportedly responded to an online ad posted by an undercover cop, and he was arrested at a Wake Forest hotel along with five other men. Raymer completed 75 hours of community service, and the charges against him were dropped over the weekend.

D. David Lee. The Warriors used a 31-16 fourth quarter to overcome the Lakers, 100-95, during preseason action in Beijing on Tuesday. Lee scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed six rebounds. Golden State is +180 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Pacific Division.

E. Eight. A record eight SEC teams are in the AP Top 25. The conference is also on course for its eighth consecutive BCS National Championship. Alabama is leading the way at No. 1, and LSU, Texas A&M, South Carolina, and Missouri all still have realistic title aspirations—although many of those teams would need some serious help, including A&M from Alabama.

F. Field-goal failure. Michigan kicker Brendan Gibbons missed three field goals on Saturday, all three of which would have won the game against Penn State. Seriously, though, why was he even in that position on the last two attempts? Head coach Brady Hoke settled for a 40-yard field goal after the Nittany Lions had missed their field-goal try, and it was promptly blocked. Even after that disaster, Hoke again settled for a 33-yarder following a Penn State turnover. Sure, it was inexplicably bad kicking; but the coaching was even worse. Naturally, PSU won in quadruple overtime.

G. GameDay. It took seven years for ESPN “College GameDay” to return to Clemson for a second time (Oct. 21, 2006 to Aug. 31, 2013). It took seven weeks for GameDay to return for a third go-around. It certainly does not get any bigger this week that an undefeated ACC showdown between the Tigers and the Seminoles. BookMaker has Clemson as a +3 home underdog.

H. Hyun-Jin Ryu. Through four games of the NLCS, the Dodgers have one win—and it’s not courtesy of Clayton Kershaw or Zack Greinke. HJR got the job done in Monday’s Game 3, doing it at the expense of St. Louis ace Adam Wainwright. The southpaw allowed only three hits and one walk in seven innings of a 3-0 L.A. victory. The Cardinals, though, lead 3-1 in the series, and they are +125 favorites at Carbon Sports to win the World Series.

I. Allen Iverson. The worldwide leader made a big deal about LeBron James saying he wants to talk basketball with Michael Jordan and desires more of a relationship with the “greatest of all time”. That’s all well and good, but it’s also obvious. The more interesting news is that LeBron’s second role model of sorts and second favorite player was Allen Iverson! Perhaps that is not too big of a surprise, because during his time in Cleveland, LeBron was basically Iverson—a superstar whose second-best teammate was garbage and still advanced to the NBA Finals. WagerWeb has the Heat as +190 favorites to win the NBA Championship.

J. Jim Irsay. A Colts win over San Diego on Monday night would have been nice for this week’s Indianapolis vs. Denver hype, but Irsay is doing his best to pick up the slack. Indy’s owner recently said that he was disappointed Peyton Manning won just a single Super Bowl, and he also claimed that Manning told him he would be crazy not to draft Andrew Luck. Broncos head coach John Fox fired back, also expressing disappointment—in Irsay’s Super Bowl comment. Get your popcorn ready for Sunday night! 5Dimes Sportsbook has Denver as a -7 road favorite.
 
K. Brad Keselowski. The defending Sprint Cup Champion did not even qualify for the Chase in 2013, but he ended a 37-race winless skid on Sunday by taking the checkered flag at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Matt Kenseth is still tops the standings, albeit a mere four points ahead of Jimmie Johnson.

L. Lauren Conrad. Kristin Cavallari’s fellow “Laguna Beach” star did not go the football-player route like Cavallari did when she married Jay Cutler. Conrad got engaged earlier this week to someone named William Tell, who apparently is solo artist formerly with the band “Something Corporate.” Whatever the case, Tell likely outkicked his punt coverage at least as far as Cutler.

M. Toronto Maple Leafs. Seven games do not a season make, but the Leafs have apparently recovered from their monumental Game 7 meltdown against Boston. They are off to their best start (6-1-0) since 1993 after hammering Minnesota 4-1 on Tuesday. Toronto currently leads the Atlantic Division, two points north of Detroit. It is +1200 at GT Bets to win the Stanley Cup.

N. North Andover High School. So the captain of a high school volleyball team goes to party to pick up a friend who is too drunk to drive and takes her home. She is promptly stripped of her captaincy and suspended for five games. Yes, this makes a lot of sense…. NOT!

O. Lamar Odom. Odom apparently met with the Lakers earlier this week. On a personal level, this would be great news for Odom—who has been battling all kinds of off-the-court problems. On a realistic level, this shows just how dire things have become for this franchise. The Lakers’ “over/under” win total is 35.5 at BetOnline Sportsbook.

P. Puig’s pose. Yasiel Puig celebrated on Monday like his fourth-inning rocket was not just out of the field but also out of the entire stadium. Instead, it barely even got to the wall. Puig still got an RBI triple out of it in L.A.’s win, but that was ridiculous. Or maybe it was just being 22.

Q. Quit. Roberto Duran waved the white flag in the eighth round of his 1980 bout against Sugar Ray Leonard, but he still maintains he never uttered the famous phrase, “No mas.” ESPN aired a “30 for 30” segment on the fight, titled “No Mas,” on Tuesday night. As all of the 30 for 30s are, it’s worth a watch.

R. Rory McIlroy. The power couple of country-club sports appears to be dunzo. McIlroy’s girlfriend (or possibly ex), tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, has denied the rumors of splitsville. So we need a reliable source. ESPN? No, that won’t do. If Wozniacki changes her Twitter picture to something other than “Wozzilroy,” we’ll have suitable confirmation.

S. Seven. Philip Rivers knows how to throw interceptions, but he also knows how to score. The Chargers signal-caller and his wife are expecting their seventh child any day now. Sportsbook has them as -7.5 road favorites at Jacksonville on Sunday.

T. Tim Tebow. Tebow is on vacation in Hawaii right now. Check that—Tebow is on permanent vacation and he is currently spending it in Hawaii. It may not be his dream scenario, but it sure beats being a backup to a quarterback who specializes in butt-fumbling.

U. USMNT. Despite having already qualified for the World Cup, the U.S. men’s national team still delivered hard-to-believe dramatics on Tuesday night. With Mexico’s concurrent loss to Costa Rica, Panama needed a win to face New Zealand in a playoff for a ticket to Rio in 2014. It was leading Team USA 2-1 in stoppage time, but two late goals by the Americans ripped the heart out of Panama and sent Mexico through to a winner-take-all date with New Zealand.

V. Vernon Davis. Davis had himself a bit of a day on Sunday. He hauled in eight passes for 180 yards and two TDs in San Francisco’s 32-20 victory over Arizona. The tight end has found the endzone in three straight contests, and he has six touchdowns in five games this season. The Niners are -4.5 road favorites at Tennessee in Week 7, per Bovada Sportsbook.

W. Winless. If you had told the Jacksonville Jaguars they would be tied with the New York Giants after six weeks, they would no doubt have taken it. Of course, they should still take it now—even though it means they have a 0-6 record. After all, it means both teams are in serious contention for Jadeveon Clowney.

X. Xavier Henry. After leaving Kansas one season in, Henry bounced from Memphis to New Orleans in three unproductive NBA seasons. He is looking good, however, this preseason with the Lakers. Henry went off for 29 points in the preseason opener against Golden State earlier this month, and he scored 15 in Tuesday’s game. The Lakers are +2500 at TopBet to win the Western Conference.

Y. T.J. Yates. Cheering when Matt Schaub goes down with an injury is bad in itself. It’s even worse when your backup option is T.J. Yates. Yates entered Houston’s blowout loss to St. Louis on Sunday and promptly did his best Schaub impersonation by throwing a pick-six. He had 98 yards on 17 attempts with no touchdowns and two interceptions in the 38-13 embarrassment. The Texans are +6.5 road underdogs at undefeated Kansas City, according to Sportsbook.

Z. Zay Jackson. Practices don’t get much more disastrous than they did for Murray State’s point guard last Saturday. Jackson suffered a torn ACL and LCL after landing awkwardly on a dunk, and he will miss the entire college basketball season. The sophomore had been counted on to start at point guard for a Racers squad that lost the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference Championship to Belmont in overtime.

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