We went 5-4 week last week, eight over .500 midway through October. A 58% clip. We’re chugging along waiting for another big week. Too many on the card again, had a couple of near cross-offs. Will let you know which ones so you can proceed accordingly.
Houston (-3, 51.5) at Navy Noon ET on ESPNU, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
Van Pelt’s pick: Navy +3
Let’s get into in the noon window again and take Navy once more in Annapolis. Every Houston game is just chaos in all directions. It will likely be a ridiculous sweat, but so what, anchors away.
SVP: 6-3 all time when picking Navy
No. 21 Cincinnati (-3.5, 58.5) at SMU Noon ET on ESPN, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas
Van Pelt’s pick: SMU +3.5
Navy just backdoored SMU, which was in Bad Beats. We are taking the Ponies at home against Cincinnati. The Cats have won five in a row, but they’ve let some teams hang around who weren’t as capable as SMU. We are taking them plus a little in Dallas. Shout to the Big Rig, Harry Higgs.
SVP: 29-11 all time when picking American Athletic Conference games
No. 7 Ole Miss at LSU (-2.5, 66.5) 3:30 p.m. ET, Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Van Pelt’s pick: LSU -2.5
This one was a near cross-off — we’ve struggled to get a read on LSU all year. Had the Tigers at home against Tennessee and they got absolutely trucked. But they are unranked and favored over an unbeaten top-10 team, that leaves us no choice than to back the Tigers. Let the band play “Neck,” we’ll pay the fine.
SVP:8-5 all time when picking favorites in SEC games
Northwestern (+14) at Maryland 3:30 p.m. ET, SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland
Van Pelt’s pick: Northwestern (+14)
Am I really about to take the team playing the Terps on homecoming weekend when I plan to be in the Snake Pit on Saturday? I am. QB situation uncertain for the Terps and Northwestern has shown an ability to hang around. That’s a lot of candy to be handing out. Happiness hedge here. Terps to win, but not by quite this many.
SVP: 1-3 all time when picking against Maryland
BYU at Liberty (+7) 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU, Williams Stadium (VA), Lynchburg, Virginia
Van Pelt’s pick: Liberty +7
Was it a gambling man who once said, give me liberty — or give me debt? I think it was. We don’t want you in debt to your man — let’s light the fire and go with the Flames at home plus the TD vs. BYU.
I don’t know if I am the nation’s finest Sun Belt tout — but I think I must be close. We are taking another nibble and taking Georgia Southern again plus the small helper in Norfolk against Old Dominion.
SVP: 7-0 when picking Sun Belt teams this year
UCF at East Carolina (+5) 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU, Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium, Greenville, North Carolina
Van Pelt’s pick: East Carolina +5
Few things bring me as much joy as this picture. It represents so many things. Those who know — know. No Quarter. Sup Dogs? More like home dogs? The Pirates battle UCF in Dowdy-Ficklen, where they’re always dangerous.
SVP: 5-2 all time when picking East Carolina
Minnesota (+4) at 16 Penn State 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC, Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
Van Pelt’s pick: Minnesota +4
The White Out game is one of the great events in the sport, the scene is special. This line kinda stinks a little bit and Ohio State is up next for the Nittany Lions. Feels like a tricky spot and we are rowing the boat with Sky-U-Mah in this tilt.
SVP: 5-2 all time when picking P.J. Fleck teams
No. 17 Kansas State (+3.5) at No. 8 TCU 8 p.m. ET, Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Texas
Van Pelt’s pick: Kansas State +3.5
Finally — another game I have gone back and forth on all week. If it seems like TCU has been in big games for a month straight, it’s because it has. At some point, does the energy wane just a little? Kansas State had a bye last week. We went with EMAW earlier this season on the road in Norman where they were outright winners. Now we are with them in Fort Worth in a huge Big 12 showdown.
SVP: 6-3 all time when picking matchup of ranked Big 12 teams
Bobby Jenks, a two-time All-Star pitcher for the Chicago White Sox who was on the roster when the franchise won the 2005 World Series, died Friday in Sintra, Portugal, the team announced.
Jenks, 44, who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a form of stomach cancer, this year, spent six seasons with the White Sox from 2005 to 2010 and also played for the Boston Red Sox in 2011. The reliever finished his major league career with a 16-20 record, 3.53 ERA and 173 saves.
“We have lost an iconic member of the White Sox family today,” White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said in a statement. “None of us will ever forget that ninth inning of Game 4 in Houston, all that Bobby did for the 2005 World Series champions and for the entire Sox organization during his time in Chicago. He and his family knew cancer would be his toughest battle, and he will be missed as a husband, father, friend and teammate. He will forever hold a special place in all our hearts.”
After Jenks moved to Portugal last year, he was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf. That eventually spread into blood clots in his lungs, prompting further testing. He was later diagnosed with adenocarcinoma and began undergoing radiation.
In February, as Jenks was being treated for the illness, the White Sox posted “We stand with you, Bobby” on Instagram, adding in the post that the club was “thinking of Bobby as he is being treated.”
In 2005, as the White Sox ended an 88-year drought en route to the World Series title, Jenks appeared in six postseason games. Chicago went 11-1 in the playoffs, and he earned saves in series-clinching wins in Game 3 of the ALDS at Boston, and Game 4 of the World Series against the Houston Astros.
In 2006, Jenks saved 41 games, and the following year, he posted 40 saves. He also retired 41 consecutive batters in 2007, matching a record for a reliever.
“You play for the love of the game, the joy of it,” Jenks said in his last interview with SoxTV last year. “It’s what I love to do. I [was] playing to be a world champion, and that’s what I wanted to do from the time I picked up a baseball.”
A native of Mission Hills, California, Jenks appeared in 19 games for the Red Sox and was originally drafted by the then-Anaheim Angels in the fifth round of the 2000 draft.
Jenks is survived by his wife, Eleni Tzitzivacos, their two children, Zeno and Kate, and his four children from a prior marriage, Cuma, Nolan, Rylan and Jackson.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
NEW YORK — The New York Yankees, digging for options to bolster their infield, have signed third baseman Jeimer Candelario to a minor league contract and assigned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the affiliate announced Saturday.
Candelario, 31, was released by the Cincinnati Reds on June 23, halfway through a three-year, $45 million contract he signed before the start of last season. The decision was made after Candelario posted a .707 OPS in 2024 and batted .113 with a .410 OPS in 22 games for the Reds before going on the injured list in April with a back injury.
The performance was poor enough for Cincinnati to cut him in a move that Reds president of baseball operations Nick Krall described as a sunk cost.
For the Yankees, signing Candelario is a low-cost flier on a player who recorded an .807 OPS just two seasons ago as they seek to find a third baseman to move Jazz Chisholm Jr. to second base, his natural position.
Candelario is the second veteran infielder the Yankees have signed to a minor league contract in the past three days; they agreed to terms with Nicky Lopez on Thursday.
Snell and Treinen each faced hitters Saturday, and Snell pitched two innings. Each could begin a rehab assignment after the All-Star break.
The 32-year-old Snell has pitched in two games for the Dodgers following his five-year, $182 million free agent deal after spending last season with the San Francisco Giants and three before that with the San Diego Padres. He is a two-time Cy Young Award winner.
“(Snell) looked good. He looked really good,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I don’t know what the velo was but the ball was coming out really well. He used his entire pitch mix. I thought the delivery was clean, sharp, so really positive day.”
The Dodgers’ starting rotation has been injury-prone this season but is starting to get a boost from Shohei Ohtani, the two-way superstar who is working as an opener in his return from elbow surgery.
Treinen is looking to get back to his role in the back end of the bullpen. He threw one inning Saturday.
“Blake Treinen I thought was really good as well,” Roberts said. “Both those guys should be ready at some point in time shortly after the All-Star break.”