Bengals Break the Cleveland Curse
The Key for the week of October 21, 2024
No Mistake This Time
Joe Burrow was a kid in college—no, not LSU, but at Ohio State—the last time the Bengals beat the Browns in the stadium by the lake. Sunday’s victory was not a pretty win, but a win nonetheless, with the tonesetter a Charlie Jones 100-yard opening kickoff return. Cleveland has had its own struggles with its Deshaun Watson-led offense, and now the Browns don’t even have that with his season-ending injury. But a division win is a division win, and the Bengals look to get back to .500 (who would have thought that???) on Sunday against the also-struggling Eagles, who also had an ugly win over Cleveland just a week ago.
Are the Bearcats for Real?
Coach Satterfield was vilified last season when UC struggled with a 3-9 season and just one win in the Big 12. So are those fans back on the bandwagon with the Bearcats’ 5-2 record, including 3-1 in conference? Remember, those two losses (Pittsburgh by one and Texas Tech by 3) were very winnable and UC took care of Arizona State on Homecoming this past weekend by getting an early lead and hanging on. Up next, Coach Prime and Colorado at Boulder. The Buffaloes are tied with UC for fifth in the conference, with identical 5-2 and 3-1 (conference) records. Expect a lot of red in the stands at Folsom Field for this one.
MLS Playoffs are Set
After this weekend’s play, the MLS post season lineup is set, with FC Cincinnati facing NYCFC in the first round. First match of the best of three is Monday, October 28, at home, then the following Saturday on the road (location TBD) and the third, if needed, back at TQL Stadium on the following Saturday. The weekend win over Philadelphia gave the Orange and Blue the third seed, and also clinched a spot in the 2025 CONCACAF Champions Cup. Conference semifinals are November 23-24, finals are November 30-December 1 and the MLS Cup championship is Saturday, December 7.
Ben’s Best Bet
It’s the best baseball matchup money can buy. The Yankees’ payroll ($306 million) versus the Dodgers’ payroll ($277.5 million on opening day) for the World Series. Contrast that with the Texas Rangers’ opening day payroll last year of $203 million, when they won it all. It’s the first time that the Yankees and Dodgers have faced each other in the Series since 1981, with the game’s two marquee players, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, each playing in their first World Series. BetMGM has the Dodgers as slight favorites, understandable with the Dodgers hurling four shutouts in the post season, thanks to the bullpen. Ben says go with the early line and expect the Dodgers to bring home their eighth World Series title.