THE HEADLINES
SMACK
Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams
FOOTBALL
New Orleans Who?
NFL Weekly Picks
NCAA Top 12
RAIDERS RED ZONE
NFL Weekly Picks
NCAA Top 12
RAIDERS RED ZONE
Raiders Rack Up The Ravens
BASKTBALL
Countdown To The NBA
LAND OF LAKERS
BASKTBALL
Countdown To The NBA
LAND OF LAKERS
The Last Run Of LeBron And A.D.
BASEBALL
The Fat Lady Is About To Sing
REDS ROOM
It's On To 2025
HOCKEY
Is It Hockey Season Yet
PENS ON ICE
Is It Hockey Season Yet
PENS ON ICE
Sign Sid Already
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
HOOP DREAMS
The NBA offseason is only about three and a half months but it feels a lot longer. During the months between seasons, we hear a lot of rumors, trade options, and most of all we get debates. There are two debates I am tired of and will never participate in again and that's the Mount Rushmore debate and the LeBron James versus Michael Jorden debate. What's amazing to me is how is till works to get interaction on social media and as long as it does, people will still throw it out like they just thought of it.
Most recently we've been seeing NBA players post their ideal starting five with current players in the league. On Friday, Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns posted his ideal starting five.
Luka Doncic
Klay Thompson
Joel Embiid
LeBron James
Kevin Durant
It's not surprising Durant included himself but to select Luka Doncic over his former teammate Steph Curry is outrageous to me. Granted, Steph is starting to get a little long in the tooth age wise but he can still deal. Maybe there is some truth to the rumors Durant and Curry tolerate each other but don't really care for one another. Or it could be with Thompson, James, and himself in the starting five, he was looking for some youth with Embiid and Doncic.
Durant's ideal starting five got me to thinking about my ideal starting five and Kevin Durant wouldn't even make my team, let alone my starting five. Durant is a decent scorer but outside of winning back to back championships with the Warriors, he's lost everywhere else he's played. I could have played for the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and won a championships with the Warriors. To me Kevin Durant is a nice role player and that's it.
Here is my ideal starting five and you're welcome to email me your ideal starting five to Big4SportsUSA@gmail.com.
Steph Curry
Luka Doncic
Nikola Jokic
LeBron James
Jayson Tatum
I like my starting five better than Kevin Durant's.
Comments & Questions are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
WHAT NFL TEAM HAS WON THE MOST GAMES ALL TIME?
(See The Answer Below)
NEW ORLEANS WHO?
When New Orleans put up 47 points week one against Carolina, we thought, big deal...it's Carolina. Put up 44 points against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington and now it's time to take a serious look at the 2-0 New Orleans Saints.
New Orleans has put up 91 points in their first two games and only given up 29 on defense. Derek Carr isn't setting the world on fire with his total yardage per game with only 443 yards but his accuracy has been exceptional with 5 touchdowns and 1 interception so far. Alvin Kamara seems to be re-energized with a total of 198 yards and 4 touchdowns in 2 games plus another 70 yards and a touchdown receiving. It appears Carr has found his Devante Adams with Rashid Shaheed, who has 169 yards and 2 touchdowns on the season.
The other bright spot for New Orleans is their defense. Although the Cowboys Dak Prescott put up 293 yards passing on 27 of 39, they picked him off twice and forced him to fumble, even though it was recovered by Dallas. Holding the Cowboys offense to 19 points on the road is a tremendous achievement.
The Saints will get another solid test next Sunday when they host the Philadelphia Eagles. A Saints win putting them at 3-0 means they're for real and in the National League South, it looks like it'll be a two team race between the Saints and Tampa Bay.
Who do you think the Las Vegas Raiders wish they would have kept at QB now?
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 2 NFL picks in bold.
(Subject to change 30 minutes before game time)
(Subject to change 30 minutes before game time)
NFL Week 2
Buffalo @ Miami - L
New Orleans @ Dallas- L
New Orleans @ Dallas- L
Tampa Bay @ Detroit - L
Indianapolis @ Green Bay- L
New York Jets @ Tennessee- W
San Francisco @ Minnesota- L
Seattle @ New England- W
New York Giants @ Washington- W
Los Angeles Chargers @ Carolina- W
Cleveland @ Jacksonville- L
Las Vegas @ Baltimore- L
Los Angeles Rams @ Arizona-L
Pittsburgh @ Denver- L
Pittsburgh @ Denver- L
Cincinnati @ Kanas City- W
Chicago @ Houston-W
Atlanta @ Philadelphia-
Season Record
Won 17 Lost 14 Pct 55%
FANTASTIC 4 PICKS
Dallas over New Orleans- L
Los Angeles Chargers over Carolina- W
Los Angeles Chargers over Carolina- W
Baltimore over Las Vegas- L
Philadelphia over Atlanta-
Season Record
W 4 L 3
TOP 12
Week Of September 16, 2024
1 Texas
2 Georgia
3 Alabama
4 Ohio State
5 Ole Miss
6 Miami
7 Penn State
8 Tennessee
9 Oregon
10 Missouri
11 USC
12 Oklahoma State
Game of the Week on 9.20.24
#11 UCS Vs #18 Michigan
#11 UCS Vs #18 Michigan
RAIDERS REDZONE
The Las Vegas Raiders shocked me and the entire NFL world on Sunday by coming back to beat the Ravens in Baltimore 26-23 to even their season record at 1--1-0 with Carolina coming to Las Vegas next Sunday.
Baltimore built up a 23-13 lead with 12:11 to go in the game and the Raiders went to work on offense and defense to secure the victory on a 38 yard field goal by Daniel Carlson with :27 seconds to go and Jack Jones made a tremendous defensive play on TE Isaiah Likely to knock the ball away on what would have put the Ravens in field goal range with seconds left to tie it up and send the game into overtime.
Gardner Minshew, threw for 276 yards with one touchdown and an interception. He also fumbled but Kolton Miller was able to recover. Devante Adams had 9 catches for 110 yards and the game tying touchdown with 3:54 left to play to help the Raiders win what looked like to be a loss early in the fourth quarter.
The Raiders rushing game was non existent once again with Zamir White picking up only 24 of the Raiders 27 total yards. To be fair, the Raiders were playing catch up most of the game but this is still a huge red flag the Raiders are going to have to address.
The 0-2 Carolina Panthers come to Las Vegas next Sunday but an 0-2 NFL team can be dangerous. The Raiders are going to once again play a solid game in all three phases to keep up with the the other teams in the AFC West.
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
LAND OF LAKERS
THE LAST RUN OF LEBRON AND A.D.
The NBA season is creeping up on us and it won't be long until we start hearing about how this could be the last run for LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles.
I don't have a crystal ball but I got to believe if the Lakers fizzle out by either missing the playoffs or getting bounced early, there will be some changes coming. Let's also consider what might happen if the Lakers win the NBA Championship too. Will they run it back or will they dismantle the team like they did after the Lakers won the bubble championship. At the end of the day, the Lakers are going to have to bite the bullet and rebuild.
LeBron James turns 40 in December and we know he's given father time a run for his money but the father is still undefeated so why continue with LeBron if you're not winning championships with him. Anthony Davis will turn 32 in March, and will be hitting the age in a couple of years where a players skills start to fade. I'm also not sure I want to keep Anthony Davis and his injury history without LeBron James being there to motivate and challenge him.
The Lakers have a couple of roster issues to deal with after we recently learned Jarred Vanderbilt and Christian Wood won't be ready to play on game on due to ongoing injury rehab. The Lakers might try to play through it for a couple of months but they're going to have to fill at least one of the two vacancies with a trade.
All this said, I believe the Lakers can win 55 games with the roster they have right now if they can avoid an early season losing streak like in previous seasons under Darvin Ham. I think new coach JJ. Reddick will have this team poppin' out of the gate. I know fans want to see D'Angelo Russell traded but the Lakers issues isn't with the starting five. It's the bench.
LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, D'Angelo Russell, and Rui Hachimura play well together and they know each other better. With the ongoing injuries to Vanderbilt and Wood, the Lakers will still have Gabe Vincent back at 100%, Cam Reddish, Jaxson Hayes, Max Christie, and rookie Dalton Knecht. These are five young and athletic players who no doubt improved over the summer. If the Lakers can add one more three point assassin in the mix, I like the Lakers chances to be a top 5 team in the Western Conference.
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
Email: sports@big4sportsusa.com
THE FAT LADY IS ABOUT TO SING
There are two weeks left in the 2024 Major League Baseball season and the only divisional race that's still in play is between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East. Cleveland has all but wrapped up the AL Central and unless Houston goes on a losing streak, they'll most likely win the AL West.
In the National League, Philadelphia will win the NL East, Milwaukee has been on top of the NL Central all season will be playoff bound and the Los Angeles Dodgers, like Houston appear to have the NL West sowed up unless that suffer and end of season losing streak.
In the Wild Card race, Detroit still has an outside shot of making the playoffs but it appears the American League Wild Card teams will be the second place team in the AL East between the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles, Kansas City Royals, and the Minnesota Twins.
In the National League, Atlanta and the New York Mets are going to go down to the wire for the third Wild Card spot but Arizona and San Diego are a few games away from clinching.
This said, this is baseball and anything can happen as long as a team hasn't been officially eliminated.
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 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
Sidney Crosby has led the Pittsburgh Penguins to three Stanley Cups and is entering the final year of a $104.4 million dollar contract he signed back in 2013. Crosby has asked for an extension and with the 2024-25 NHL about to get underway on October 4th, one has to wonder if the Penguins are serious about extending Crosby.
Crosby by today's standards is underpaid but at the age of 37, how much more juice does Sid the Kid have left? The Penguins want Crosby to retire as a Penguin, so they should agree and get Sid under contract to take him up to age 40.
They way I look at is whatever amount of money the Penguins spend, Sid is worth it on the ice and as PR now and in the future. Also, Pittsburgh kind of owes him some back for underpaying him the past tew years based on what market conditions have demanded.
The one thing you have to appreciate about Sidney Crosby is he knows he's been severely underpaid for the past 10 years but he's never complained about the deal he signed. That in itself screams just sign Sid already.
Let's get this done Pittsburgh!
Comments & Questions Are Welcome
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
JK Dobbins- Los Angeles Chargers
Wide Receivers
Amon-Ra St. Brown- Detroit Lions
Stefon Diggs- Houston Texans
Tyler Lockett- Seattle Seahawks
Rashid Shaheed- New Orleans Saints
Tight Ends
Sam La Portia- Detroit Lions
Dalton Schultz- Houston Texans
Kicker
Brandon Aubrey- Dallas Cowboys
Defense
Los Angeles Chargers
Roster Moves
1 Picked up JK Dobbins RB/Los Angeles Chargers,
Dropped Calvin Ridley WR/Tennessee Titans
2 Picked up Rashid Shaheed WR/New Orleans Saints
Dropped Adam Thielen WR/Carolina Panthers
3 Picked up Los Angeles Chargers Defense
Dropped Las Vegas Raiders Defense
WEEK TWO STARTERS
QB- Lamar Jackson
RB- Kyren Williams
RB- Jerome Ford
WR- Amon-Ra St. Brown
WR- Stefon Diggs
TE- Sam La Portia
FX- JK Dobbins
K- Brandon Aubrey
D- Los Angeles Chargers
Season Record
1-0-0
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
