THE HEADLINES
SMACK
The NFL's Global Dreams
The NFL's Global Dreams
FOOTBALL
Year Of The Rook
NFL Weekly Picks
NCAA Top 12
RAIDERS RED ZONE
NFL Weekly Picks
NCAA Top 12
RAIDERS RED ZONE
The Roster Stands At 53
BASKTBALL
Countdown To The NBA
LAKERS INSIDE OUT
BASKTBALL
Countdown To The NBA
LAKERS INSIDE OUT
Coming on September 23rd
BASEBALL
Clean Those White Sox
REDS ROOM
It's On To 2025
HOCKEY
Is It Hockey Season Yet
PENS ON ICE
Is It Hockey Season Yet
PENS ON ICE
Coming on September 16th
FANTASY FOOTBALL
The Demons Draft This Weekend
*Big 4 Sports covers the Raiders/Lakers/Reds/Penguins in season*
The Demons Draft This Weekend
*Big 4 Sports covers the Raiders/Lakers/Reds/Penguins in season*
NEW EPISODE EVERY MONDAY
with Mark Elliott
There is an old saying that goes "never forget where you came from" and it's great advice. Too bad the NFL doesn't follow it. Over the past several years, the NFL has been trying to go global by playing games in England, Canada, Mexico, Germany and Friday night in Brazil to grow it's worldly fan base. There has been talk of expanding the NFL in other countries so one day there is a possibility of watching the Green Bay Packers playing the London Royals for example.
Reports say and several players confirmed they were confined to their hotels due to the potential for violence jeopardizing players safety. Regardless, the NFL pressed on to play the game on a field that didn't fully meet NFL specifications. The league that claims to be all in on player safety isn't really about player safety when the oh mighty dollar is involved.
The part that gets under my skin is the NFL has chosen to play these games during the regular season. This means season ticket holders who pay a hefty price will be cheated out of one home game. What makes sense to me is to play these games during the preseason but the NFL doesn't care. The same way the NFL doesn't care to revamp their ridiculous blackout policies or force fans to subscribe to another network to watch select games. If you wanted to watch Green Bay and Philadelphia Friday night, you have to subscribe to the Peacock Network.
The only way the NFL is going to get the message about how their greed is impacting the game in the United States, is to stop spending money on the sport. When they start hurting financially, they'll be forced to take a look at their business practices. As it stands, the NFL believes the league is so popular, they can lead fans around like sheep and to a certain extent, they're right.
Soon, the only network games you're going to get are the bottom feeder games and you'll be forced to pay for additional streaming services. The NFL doesn't want to offer their product for free anymore, even thought they force us to watch endless amounts of commercials on Network games they carry. I believe within five years, you won't be able to watch most games, the playoffs and the Super Bowl without paying for a subscription.
Comments & Questions are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
WHAT NFL TEAM HAS WON THE MOST GAMES ALL TIME?
(See The Answer Below)
YEAR OF THE ROOK
The 2024 NFL Draft produced six first round quarterbacks.
Caleb Williams- Chicago Bears #1
Jayden Daniels- Washington Commanders #2
Drake Maye- New England Patriots #3
Michael Penix Jr- Atlanta Falcons #8
J.J. McCarthy- Minnesota Vikings #10
Bo Nix- Denver Broncos #12
Drake Maye- New England Patriots #3
Michael Penix Jr- Atlanta Falcons #8
J.J. McCarthy- Minnesota Vikings #10
Bo Nix- Denver Broncos #12
Heading into the start of the season this week, three of the six earned staring roles. Caleb Williams/Chicago, Jayden Daniels/Washington, and Bo Nix/Denver. Drake Maye/New England and Michael Penix Jr/Atlanta will backup for their respective teams and J.J. McCarthey/Minnesota was on his ;way to being the Vikings starter before an injury sidelined him for his rookie year.
Williams, Daniels, and Nix, looked more than ready to accept their starting roles in the preseason but now that all of the teams have their rosters together, we'll soon find out who really is NFL ready. Who will standout and be this season's C.J. Stroud/Houston? I have always liked Bo Nix. He comes in with the most college starts and is battle tested. He will struggle against the better defenses but he's the most pro ready QB in the draft over Williams and Daniels. Then I rank Williams and Daniel's both a close second to Nix. All three will have their struggles but Chicago, Washington, and Denver have solid quarterbacks for the future.
This said, Caleb Williams has the better receiving core followed by Daniels at Washington. Nix doesn't have a lot to work with in Denver but he has enough to make Denver dangerous in the AFC West this season.
All season, Big 4 Sports will track the progress week by week for all three starting quarterbacks to track how they perform.
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
Over the years, I've always had a decent record picking NFL games. On average over the past decade I am at 78%. Last season I was on the money 83% of the time. This is where I will pick the weekly winners and highlight the 4 team parlay I play on a weekly basis. Picks will be released on Wednesday's but always check back for changes due to team updates 30 minutes before kick off on game day.
Here are our week one NFL picks in bold.
NFL Week 1
Baltimore @ Kansas City
Green Bay @ Philadelphia
Green Bay @ Philadelphia
Pittsburgh @ Atlanta
Arizona @ Buffalo
Tennessee @ Chicago
New England @ Cincinnati
Houston @ Indianapolis
Jacksonville @ Miami
Charlotte @ New Orleans
Minnesota @ New York Giants
Las Vegas @ Los Angeles Chargers
Denver @ Seattle
Dallas @ Cleveland
Washington @ Tampa Bay
Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit
New York Jets @ San Francisco
FANTASTIC 4 PICKS
Buffalo over Arizona
Cincinnati over New England
Miami over Jacksonville
Tampa Bay over Washington
TOP 12
Week Of September 2, 2024
1 Georgia
2 Texas
3 Ohio State
4 Alabama
5 Notre Dame
6 Oregon
7 Penn State
8 Ole Miss
9 Miami
10 Michigan
11 Missouri
12 Tennessee
Game of the Week on 9.6.24
Texas @ Michigan (Texas by 5)
Texas @ Michigan (Texas by 5)
RAIDERS REDZONE
The Las Vegas Raiders are set for the 2024 season after finally getting their roster trimmed to the league limit of 53 players by league deadline.
According to the Raiders depth chart, these will be your starters to open the season
Offense
QB- Gardner Minshew
QB- Gardner Minshew
RB- Zamir White
RB- Alexander Mattison
WR- Davante Adams
WR- Jakobi Meyers
WR- Tre Tucker
TE- Brock Bowers
LT- Kolton Miller
LG- Cody Whitehair
C- Andre James
C- Andre James
RG- Dylan Partham
RT- Thayer Mumford Jr.
Defense
LDE- Maxx Crosby
LDT- John Jenkins
RDT- Christian Wilkins
RDE- Malcom Koonce
RDE- Malcom Koonce
WLB- Divine Deablo
MLB- Robert Spillane
SLB- Luke Masterson
LCB- Jack Jones
SS- Marcus Epps
FS- Tre'von Moehrig
RCB- Jakorian Bennett
NB- Nate Hobbs
Special Teams
K- Daniel Carlson
P- A.J. Cole
PR- Tre Turner
KR Ameer Abdullah
LS- Jacob Bobenmoyer
Las Vegas opens the 2024 season on the road at the Los Angeles Chargers on September 8th. The Raiders have had the Chargers number in recent years and with Los Angeles overhauling their roster with new head coach Jim Harbaugh, the Raiders look primed to open the season with a win.
The challenge for the Raiders will be over the first 9 games when they play only 4 games at home and will face Baltimore, Cleveland, Denver, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles Rams, Kanas City Chiefs, and Cincinnati all before the bye week and then comeback on the road at Miami. Playing 6 out of their first 10 games on road could make or break the Raiders season.
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
COUNTDOWN TO THE NBA
Now that the Olympics are over and the men's and women's basketball teams have secured gold medals, we can now look forward to the second half of the WNBA season and counting down to the start of the NBA season.
Leading up to opening night, we're going to start hearing trade rumors from the outsiders pretending to be insiders. There are several teams that will be looking to strengthen weaknesses which means shuffling the deck from the list of free agents who haven't been signed yet. Just about every team has a need to be filled and there isn't enough quality talent available to go around which means teams are going to have to spend heavily to get the best players available. Right now teams are hoping the available free agents will panic and take less. Get ready for a few surprises you didn't expect involving teams you never thought would be willing to trade.
It's going to be anything but quiet and we'll keep you up to date on Big 4 Sports.
Here are key dates to be aware of for the upcoming NBA Season;
- Opening Night: October 22, 2024
- In-Season Tournament: November 12 - December 17, 2024
- Christmas Day Games: December 25, 2024 San Antonio Vs New York Knicks Minnesota Vs Dallas Philadelphia Vs Boston Los Angeles Lakers Vs Golden State Denver Vs Phoenix
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day Games: January 20, 2025
- NBA All-Star Weekend: February 14-16, 2025
- End of Regular Season: April 14, 2025
- NBA Play-In Tournament: April 16-19, 2025
- Start of NBA Playoffs: April 21, 2025
- NBA Finals: June 2025
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
LAKERS INSIDE OUT
Coming on September 23RD
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
CLEAN THOSE WHITE SOX
Major League Baseball has a problem called the Chicago White Sox, a team that has won 31 of 138 games this season. At this pace, the White Sox are projected to go 36-126. Fans aren't showing up to watch them play and why should they? The Chicago White Sox are a dumpster fire and it's time to clean the White Sox out of Chicago and let them start over in another city as an expansion team. The Chicago White Sox are one of the oldest franchises in baseball, but all good things must come to an end. The Windy City belongs to the Chicago Cubs and there is no room for the White Sox any longer.
Since I'm not one to come to you with a problem without a solution, here is what I propose. Move the White Sox to either Salt Lake City, New Orleans, Buffalo, or Charlotte. I would say Las Vegas but the A's have already planted their flag in Sin City. A fresh start by the White Sox in one of the four mentioned cities is the perfect place for a new beginning.
Salt Lake City, a growing metropolis full of baseball fans who don't have a pro football team. They currently have an NBA and a new NHL franchise that just relocated from Phoenix. After the NBA and NHL seasons end, the White Sox would own Salt Lake City.
New Orleans has an NFL and NBA franchise but no baseball team and they would potentially draw from multiple southern states beyond New Orleans and baseball still has a huge fan base in the South. .
Buffalo only has the Bills and a new major league franchise would be welcomed with open arms. I dare you to name a state with a bigger baseball fan base than New York. It's time Buffalo had their own team.
Charlotte, like New Orleans, would benefit like the Panthers and Hornets do by drawing from both North and South Carolina. The closest major league team to Charlotte, is the Atlanta Braves, almost 250 miles away. While both the Panthers and Hornets are having down years, the White Sox would have an opportunity to own Charlotte if they can turn the franchise around quickly.
Once a new city is selected for relocation, Major League Baseball can keep them in the American League Central or choose to realign all three divisions depending on what city the White Sox decide to move to. The bottom line is it's time for the Chicago White Sox to exit stage right and stop competing with the Cubs, Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks.
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
REDS ROOM
IT'S ON TO 2025
When the Cincinnati Reds start the 2025 season, I sincerely hope David Bell isn't leading the way. After six seasons Bell has a sub .500 record and just like a players baseball card, the best way to judge the future is by looking at past results. David Bell could be given an All Star caliber team, and he would find a way to lose 85 to 95 games. He is lousy at managing the bullpen, and his lineup cards make absolutely no sense.
Granted the Reds got bit early and hard with the injury bug, but all teams deal with injuries. The Reds sub .500 record can be traced to Bell's managing of the bullpen. By continuing to use Fernando Cruz who to date has lost 8 games, Cincinnati is fighting to stay out of the cellar in the National League Central. Imagine if he had won 5 of those games. The Reds would be 73-68 and in second place behind Milwaukee and in the wild card hunt. However, David Bell kept using Cruz in key situations and the Reds are where they are.
Looking ahead to 2025, there is reason for optimism again. Matt McLain will be returning after a shoulder injury sidelined him this season. There is reason to believe rookie pitcher Rhett Lowder is major league ready to go with Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott and if first round draft pick Chase Burns, turns out to be the next Paul Skenes, the Reds rotation will be solid. If not Burns, there is still Graham Ashcraft and Brandon WIlliamson, Carson Spiers, and Nick Martinez who can fill the fifth starter role in the rotation.
There is a definite possibility the Reds will make a few trades this off season that might include Jonathan India, Stuart Fairchild, and Will Benson. The recent play of Ty France, could mean the Reds move on from Christian Encarnacion-Strand or keep him in AAA for one more year. You can never have enough pitching and the Reds have a few players that will draw some interest to help Cincinnati sure up the bullpen.
Here is the projected roster for Cincinnati in 2025
Starting Pitching
S1 Hunter Greene
S2 Nick Lodolo
S3 Rhett Lowder
S4 Andrew Abbott
S5 Carson Spiers
Bullpen
CL Alexis Diaz
RS Nick Martinez
R1 Buck Farmer
R2 Tony Santillan
R3 Jakob Junis
R4 Sam Moll
R5 Brent Suter
R6 Emilio Pagan
Catchers
C1 Tyler Stephenson
C2 Luke Maile
Infielders
1B Ty France
2B Matt McLain
3B Noelvi Marte
SS Elly De La Cruz
IF Jeimer Candelario
IF Santiago Espanial
Outfielders
LF Spencer Steer
CF T.J. Friedl
RF-Jake Fraley
OF Amed Rosario
OF Will Benson
Batting Order
2B Matt McLain
CF T.J. Friedl
SS Elly De La Cruz
LF Spencer Steer
C Tyler Stephenson
RF Jake Fraley
1B Ty France
DH Jeimer Candelario
3B Noelvi Marte
There is an outside chance Reece Hinds makes the 2025 roster if he has a spectacular spring training. Hinds had one great week this season when he was called up, but teams eventually figure out hitters. It will require Hinds to adjust his hitting approach to make the club.
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
Now that the NHL season is over and the Florida Panthers just won the Stanley Cup, the joke goes "Is It Hockey Season Yet" because of the sports quick turnaround.
Here is what we know so far;
> The 2024/25 Season starts 3 months from now on October 4th,
> The Stanley Cup Playoffs are set to being on April 25th, 2025.
> The NHL Schedules should be out the first week of July
> The NHL Schedules should be out the first week of July
> The new Utah Hockey franchise will be called the Utah Hockey Club during season one until a permanent name can be decided upon. Then you'll see an onslaught of team merch released. For now, snap up the Utah Hockey Club merch because it won't around long.
> The New NHL Salary Cap will be increased to $65 million.
NHL International Games
The Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils are scheduled to play their first two regular season games against each other on October 4 and 5, 2024, at O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
The Dallas Stars and Florida Panthers are scheduled to play two games on November 1 and 2, at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland.
NHL Outdoor Games
The 2025 NHL Winter Classic will be held on December 31, 2024, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, with the Chicago Blackhawks hosting the St. Louis Blues.
One NHL Stadium Series game will be held on March 1, 2025, at Ohio Stadium on the campus of the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, with the Columbus Blue Jackets hosting the Detroit Red Wings.
New Rules for 2024.25
- The puck-over-glass delay-of-game penalty has been added to the list of plays that can go under video review. This only applies to determine whether the puck instead deflected off a player, stick, the glass or the boards. The judgement call on how the puck left the defensive zone cannot be reviewed. A failed coach's challenge would thus essentially result in a double-minor: both the original puck-over-glass penalty and the failed coach's challenge penalty.
- The defensive team cannot make a line change after its goaltender accidentally dislodges the net.
- Following an icing, offensive centers will receive a warning for a faceoff violation, just like defensive players.
- A team that has players sitting on the boards will first receive a warning, and then be accessed an unsportsmanlike conduct bench minor penalty for subsequent violations
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
PENS ON ICE
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Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
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BIG 4 SPORTS
FANTASY FOOTBALL
Fantasy Football Team
Quarterbacks
Lamar Jackson- Baltimore Ravens
Matt Stafford- Los Angeles Rams
Running Backs
Kyren Williams- Los Angeles Rams
Zamir White- Las Vegas Raiders
Devin Singletary- New York Giants
Jerome Ford- Cleveland Browns
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown- Detroit Lions
Stefon Diggs- Houston Texans
Calvin Ridley- Tennessee Titans
Calvin Ridley- Tennessee Titans
Tyler Lockett- Seattle Seahawks
Adam Thielen- Carolina Panthers
Tight Ends
Sam La Portia- Detroit Lions
Dalton Schultz- Houston Texans
Kicker
Brandon Aubrey- Dallas Cowboys
Defense
Las Vegas Raiders
WEEK ONE STARTERS
QB- Lamar Jackson
RB- Kyren Williams
RB- Zamir White
WR- Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR- Stefon Diggs
TE- Sam La Portia
FX- Calvin Ridley
K- Brandon Aubrey
D- Las Vegas Raiders
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
Los Angeles, CA
Web: Big4SportsUSA.com
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
Copyright 2004
Big4SportsUSA is a division of Mark Elliott Media LLC
markelliottmedia.com
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
Copyright 2004
Big4SportsUSA is a division of Mark Elliott Media LLC
markelliottmedia.com
