A. Andre Iguodala. Iguodala had himself a bit of a day on Monday night when Golden State handed Philadelphia its first loss of the NBA season. Draining a career-high seven three-pointers obviously would have been enough, but he added a ridiculous behind-the-back assist for what was surely the best pass of his career. The Warriors are +1500 at Sportsbook.ag to win the NBA Championship.

B. Bungals. These aren’t your grandfather’s Bungals. These are the Cincinnati Bengals, a more-than-respectable, division-leading NFL team. However, they lost in abysmal fashion last Thursday. Andy Dalton took a sack in the endzone midway through the overtime period, abruptly ending the game 22-20 in favor of the Miami Dolphins. The Bengals are -2 road favorites at Baltimore on Sunday, according to BookMaker.

C. Michael Carter-Williams. Just when it looked like the Philadelphia 76ers were going to tank for Andrew Wiggins, MCW showed up. The rookie out of Syracuse put up two double-doubles in his first three games (all wins), and he had nine steals in a season-opening upset of Miami. The Sixers, though, have now come to their senses by losing two in a row.

D. Duke Johnson. Getting lambasted at rival Florida State last weekend was bad enough for Miami. More pain, however, was inflicted on the Hurricanes when Johnson suffered a broken ankle in the fourth quarter of his team’s 41-14 loss. Johnson (145 carries, 920 yards, six touchdowns) will miss the remainder of the season. Miami is a -7 home favorite over Virginia Tech on Saturday, per Bovada Sportsbook.

E. Eminem. The rapper was accused of lip-syncing his performance on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend. He did not fully admit it, although he did say that he was using vocal track behind the live edition. First, doesn’t that mean he was lip-syncing? Second, these days shouldn’t a singer not lip-syncing qualify as newsworthy?

F. Forty. That’s how many points—“at least”—Oregon should put up against Stanford on Thursday night, according to Ducks’ running back De’Anthony Thomas. Something has to give: Oregon has scored at least 42 points in all eight games this season (averaging 55.6), but it lost to Stanford 17-14 last year. 5Dimes Sportsbook has the Ducks as -10.5 road favorites over the Cardinal.

G. Gunners. Arsenal is 2-0 this week, with wins in both the Premier League and the Champions League. The Gunners took care of Liverpool 2-0 on Sunday, and they now stand atop the Premier League table, five points ahead of Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham Hotspur. On Tuesday, Arsenal edged Borussia Dortmund 1-0 in Champions League action. The team has not yet clinched safe passage out of Group F, but it is in good shape. Arsenal is +350 at Bovada Sportsbook to win the Premier League title.

H. Hired. The manager carousel has begun in force throughout the major leagues. Following Cincinnati’s lead from last month, Detroit, Seattle, and the Chicago Cubs already have their men. The Tigers hired Brad Ausmus, the Mariners bagged Lloyd McClendon, and on Tuesday the Cubs gave their reins to Rick Renteria.

I. Incognito. Richie may have to go incognito for a while, because it has all gone to Hell in Miami. There are more questions than answers, but one thing is certain: this is not going to end well for anyone.

J. Jimmie Johnson. The five-time Sprint Cup Champion took home the checkered flag from Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday. He now has a seven-point lead over Matt Kenseth with two races remaining. But before you etch Johnson’s name on a sixth trophy, consider this: he also left Texas with a seven-point cushion last year. What happened? JJ lost the title to Brad Keselowski. Carbon Sports has Johnson as a -500 favorite to secure another title.
 
K. Gary Kubiak. As the entire sports world knows, the Texans’ head coach collapsed on the way to the halftime locker room during his team’s Sunday night loss to Indianapolis. Kubiak, who was released from the hospital on Wednesday, reportedly suffered a kind of mini-stroke. Interim head coach Wade Phillips will lead the way this weekend. The Texans are +3 road underdogs at Arizona, according to Sportsbook.ag.

L. Lion. Rocky the Mountain Lion, the Denver Nuggets’ mascot, passed out while being lowered from the rafters prior to last Friday night’s loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The man behind the mask missed the entire game, but he was never in serious condition.

M. Mucho Macho Man. Mucho Macho Man did not completely overwhelm the rest of the competition as his name might suggest, but he did have enough to win the $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic last weekend at Santa Anita Park in California. Atop jockey Gary Stevens, who had never won the Breeders’ Cup, MMM edged Will Take Charge by a nose at the finish.

N. Nice. That’s Derrick Rose’s problem, said Chicago Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau. Rose is not getting calls when he bulldozes toward the basket because, according to Thibodeau, he is too nice of a guy. The season, meanwhile, is not off to a particularly nice start. Chicago is 1-3, and Rose has not scored more than 18 points in any game. He is averaging just 3.8 assists per contest, and does not have a single steal. GT Bets has the Bulls at +350 to win the Eastern Conference.

O. Alex Ovechkin. It did not take long for the Washington Capitals’ forward to make an instant impact upon his return from a two-game absence due to a shoulder injury. On Tuesday, Ovechkin lit the lamp twice and added an assist vs. the New York Islanders. Not coincidentally, the Capitals had lost their two previous games before trouncing the Isles, 6-2. Ovechkin has 12 goals and six assists in 13 games this season. Washington is a +102 home underdog on Thursday vs. Minnesota, per 5Dimes Sportsbook.

P. Premiere. Monday night’s movie premiere of “Thor: The Dark World” was quite the show-stopper. If you haven’t seen Jamie Alexander and the dress she wore, Google it immediately. The movie is out in theaters nationwide on Friday.

Q. Quarterback quandary. Despite featuring a battle of backup quarterbacks, the Bears-Packers showdown produced a stellar game by recent “Monday Night Football” standards. Josh McCown’s Bears held off Seneca Wallace’s Packers 27-20 at Lambeau Field. Jay Cutler is questionable for Sunday’s game against Detroit, while Aaron Rodgers, who sustained a fractured collarbone in the first quarter against Chicago, is expected to miss three weeks. WagerWeb has the Packers at +550 to win the NFC Championship. The Bears are +1500.

R. Rob Dyrdek. The professional skateboarder and MTV reality star apparently won big on Mucho Macho Man at the Breeders’ Cup. He said before the race that he would win “a whole lotta cash” if MMM won it. Afterward, Dyrdek did not disclose the amount. But he did post a photo with a quite a hefty stack in his hand.

S. Seven. Iguodala wasn’t the only one who started this weekend in seventh heaven. Another athlete accomplished a far more remarkable feat. On Sunday, Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Nick Foles tied an NFL record with seven touchdowns in a single game as his team trounced Oakland 49-20. Foles completed 22-of-28 passes for 406 yards and seven scores for what is arguably the best single-game statistical performance in the history of the league. In the process, he compiled a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Eagles are +300 at BetOnline Sportsbook to win the NFC East.

T. Tackled. Leave it to Ryan Lochte to endure the following fate: an excited teenage girl either tackled him or leapt into him, caused him to hit the ground, and he suffered a torn MCL and a sprained MCL. You can’t make this stuff up, folks.

U. Undefeated. The Kansas City Chiefs still are, somehow. Last Sunday at Buffalo, they gained 210 total yards while converting a mere three of 13 third downs. The Bills, meanwhile, racked up 470 yards from scrimmage. But the Chiefs know how to win, and they won the turnover battle three to zilch while returning two turnovers for touchdowns. Hello, 9-0!

V. Victimized. It doesn’t get much worse than losing a football game on a Hail Mary. Northwestern was the latest to fall victim to it. The Wildcats led Nebraska 24-21 last Saturday only to see the Cornhuskers treat their fans to a miracle. Ron Kellogg III’s 49-yard heave as time expired was tipped and caught by Jordan Westerkamp in the endzone for the game-winner.

W. Andrew Wiggins. If nothing else, you gotta hand it to the kid for being honest. When asked by Jay Bilas about his goals for the upcoming season, Kansas’ freshman phenom said he wants to be the No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft. Wiggins has no shame over being one-and-done, and—as we will likely find out when the season starts—he shouldn’t.

X. Xavier Henry. Henry is averaging 4.8 points per game for his career, but his strong play in the preseason has continued into the regular slate of games for the L.A. Lakers. The third-year man out of Kansas is posting 12.4 points per game through five contests, including a 22-point, six-rebound performance in an opening win over the Clippers. Henry also had two blocks and three steals in a Tuesday loss to Dallas. The Lakers are +13 road underdogs at Houston on Thursday, according to Sportsbook.ag.

Y. Year-end championship. Tennis’ final tournament of the season, featuring the eight best players in the world, is underway in London. Rafael Nadal has locked up the year-end world No. 1 ranking, and he has already clinched a berth in the semifinals of this event by going 2-0 so far in round-robin play. Sportsbook.ag has Nadal as a -450 favorite over Tomas Berdych on Friday.

Z. Zach Parise. Parise has eight goals and six assists through 16 games for the 9-4-3 Minnesota Wild. He has points in his last three games and six of his last seven, with four goals in that span—including two on Tuesday in a 5-1 win over Calgary. Minnesota is +700 to win the Central Division, per Bovada Sportsbook.

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