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Case of the Mondays: Tennessee Goes Down Again


by - 2/25/2019

Tennessee Volunteers forward Grant Williams (2) drives around Vanderbilt Commodores forward Clevon Brown (15) during a college basketball game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Vanderbilt Commodores.

It’s safe to stay that Tennessee is no longer the No. 1 team in the nation on the college hardwood. The Volunteers followed up a recent loss to Kentucky by going down at LSU this past weekend. Similarly, last week’s NBA action saw the Warriors lose in surprising fashion to the James Harden-less Rockets. It was also a rough week for Robert Kraft, Tiger Woods, and the Chicago White Sox.

Odds provided by Bovada Sportsbook unless otherwise indicated.

Grant Williams. At the midway point of February, Tennessee had won 19 game in a row and was ranked No. 1 in the nation. Then the schedule got tougher. A trip to Rupp Arena resulted in an 86-69 loss to Kentucky and the Volunteers eventually fell for the second time in the span of three outings with last Saturday’s 82-80 overtime setback against LSU. Williams recovered from first-half ineffectiveness to keep his team competitive late, but he committed a foul with 0.6 seconds left in OT 75 feet away from the basket. Tigers freshman Javonte Smart promptly sank two go-ahead free-throw before Williams missed a decent look for Tennessee at the buzzer. The Vols are +1100 to win the National Championship; Duke is a +210 favorite.

DeMarcus Cousins. The Warriors still lead the Western Conference, but Cousins’ struggles are part of the reason why they can’t pull away from Denver (the margin is currently just one game following Golden State’s 118-112 loss to Houston—without James Harden—on Saturday). Over the past four games, Cousins is averaging 9.8 points and 7.4 rebounds in 21.8 minutes. "It's tough," he admitted. "Obviously I'm in like a gray area when it comes to that, trying to get back to being myself and also knowing guys are coming at me. Nobody in this league is going to feel sorry for me and I know that, so I'm going to go out and battle as much as I can and do what I can. But it still is a process for me. It's no excuse." The Warriors are -8 favorites at Charlotte on Monday.

Ja Rule. Last Saturday’s halftime show at the Bucks vs. Timberwolves gamed worked out better than the Fyre Festival for Ja Rule…but that’s not saying a lot! The sound wasn’t working at the beginning of the performance and Giannis Antetokounmpo was among the players who started warming up for the second half before the rapper had even completed his set. He later got into a Twitter war with the Timberwolves’ account. Milwaukee is a +170 favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

Vegas Golden Knights. The only NHL teams with longer losing streaks than Vegas are ones that really stink: you know, the likes of Ottawa, Detroit, and Los Angeles. But the Golden Knights’ slump actually means something, since they are in a battle for playoff position and seeding in the Western Conference. The Knights have dropped three in a row at the hands of Colorado, Boston, and Winnipeg, falling to sixth place in the conference. They have been outscored by seven goals during this stretch but at least managed to push the Bruins to a shootout. Vegas is +1100 to win the Western Conference (MyBookie.ag).

Chicago White Sox. It’s back to the drawing board for the White Sox, who lost out on the Manny Machado sweepstakes to San Diego last week. "Well, I'm wearing my shades so that you guys don't see the shock in my eyes," executive vice president Ken Williams said after Machado inked a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres. "It is disappointing; very surprised. There are a few other words you can put on that. I'd be lying to you if I said anything other than that…. We will be all right. We are still going to take steps forward. This is all very fresh, and some things need to be thought through. Nobody died. A baseball player went to another team.” A baseball player signed with Chicago this past weekend, but it wasn’t Machado—nor Bryce Harper. The Sox settled for veteran right-hander Ervin Santana on a minor-league deal ($4.3 million if he makes the team). The White Sox are +5000 to win the World Series.

Bob Kraft. Kraft is the biggest story in sports at the moment (that’s the dog days of February for ya)—and it’s not for winning a whole bunch of Super Bowls. Quite the contrary. The Patriots’ 77-year-old owner has been linked along with more than 100 others in a human sex trafficking bust in central Florida. He could be charged as early as today with soliciting prostitution. Video of Kraft at the spa being leaked is +400; the over/under for his masseuse’s age is 20.5 years old (MyBookie.ag).

Tiger Woods. Tiger put himself in contention going into the weekend at the World Golf Championship-Mexico with a second-round 66. Things never panned out, however, as the 12th-ranked American struggled to rounds of 70 and 69 while a lot of the field went low. He finished in a tie for 10th at 8-under par, 13 strokes behind winner Dustin Johnson. "I don't know what to say; I really can't explain how bad I putted,” the 43-year-old lamented. “The putts I thought I hit well didn't go in. The putts I hit bad were just atrocious. The only thing I can take away from this week is I really had good feel for hitting the ball pin high, which is really the only consolation for the week.'' Tiger is a +1400 third choice to win the Masters, tied with Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, and Justin Thomas behind Johnson and Rory McIlroy.
 

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